Politics and government of Hong Kong |
Related topics Hong Kongportal |
Hong Kong has a multi-party system, with numerous parties in which no one party was allowed to gain power by controlling the Legislative Council. The Chief Executive is appointed by the Premier of the People's Republic of China based on an indirectly elected Election Committee and is de facto pro-Beijing but de jure is said to be nonpartisan as specified in the Chief Executive Election Ordinance. Once selected, the Chief Executive forms an unelected government which superficially has to rely on political parties in the legislature for support, but the legislature has been deliberately designed and redesigned to be a pro-Beijing rubber stamp body. [1] [2]
Hong Kong has no legislation for political parties; thus, it has no legal definition for what a political party is. Most political parties and political groups registered either as limited companies or societies.
In Hong Kong, there were two main political ideological blocs, which presents to pro-democracy camp (include localists) and pro-Beijing camp. Under the newly introduced electoral system, only government-approved candidates may run, effectively disqualifying any candidates who are not from the pro-Beijing camp or approved by Beijing. Most of the pro-democracy camp Legislative Councillors from the previous LegCo have been jailed by the Hong Kong government and are therefore disqualified from participating in elections without the need for government vetting.
The list includes also political groups, trade unions, professional associations and pressure groups in Hong Kong that have been active in elections but are not considered parties.
As of 19 June 2017, there were a total number of 16 political groupings represented in the Legislative and District Councils: [3] There are currently (As of August 2021) 8 political groups are still officially represented, and 4 further political groups represented by members of the first 8 groups (New Territories Association of Societies, New Territories Heung Yee Kuk, Kowloon West New Dynamic, Civil Force), all 12 are pro-Beijing parties. [4]
Other parties and groups without any representation that have participated in the elections include:
The Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF) was an organisation that focused on the issues of Hong Kong politics and livelihood, affiliated with almost all pan-democratic camps in Hong Kong. It was founded on 13 September 2002 and disbanded on 15 August 2021.
The Baptist Convention of Hong Kong is an association of Baptist Christian churches in Hong Kong. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance. The headquarters is in Mong Kok.
Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers (HKFEW) is a pro-Beijing teachers union in Hong Kong. Established in 1975, it is currently the largest teachers union in Hong Kong, after the disbandment of the Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union. It was established to "rally teachers to adopt the position of 'loving Hong Kong and the Motherland'", as part of China's united front work in Hong Kong's educational sector.
The Liberal Democratic Federation of Hong Kong was a pro-Beijing pro-business and conservative political party in Hong Kong. It was established in 1990, and was composed of mainly conservative businessmen and professionals. It contested in the District Board elections, Urban and Regional Council elections and the first Legislative Council election in 1991 against the liberal United Democrats of Hong Kong (UDHK). It was merged into the Hong Kong Progressive Alliance in 1997. Chaired by Hu Fa-kuang and vice-chaired by Maria Tam and Philip Kwok, the leading figures included Tso Wung-wai, Howard Young, and Daniel Heung.
The Progressive Hong Kong Society was a political group in Hong Kong. It was established on 14 February 1985 by the then Executive and Legislative Council member Maria Tam. The party is considered conservative and pro-Beijing, in contrast to the pro-democracy forces which rose to prominence in the late 1980s and early 90s.
The 2016 Hong Kong Legislative Council election was held on 4 September 2016 for the 6th Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo). A total of 70 members, 35 from geographical constituencies (GCs) and 35 from functional constituencies (FCs), were returned. The election came after the rejection of the 2016/2017 constitutional reform proposals which suggested the electoral method for the 2016 Legislative Council remains unchanged.
Localist camp or localist and self-determination groups refers to the various groups with localist ideologies in Hong Kong. It emerged from post-80s social movements in the late 2000s which centred on the preservation of the city's autonomy and local lifestyles and opposed the perceived growing encroachment of the Chinese government on the city's management of its own political, economic, and social affairs.
ALLinHK was an electoral alliance formed by six groups which emerged from the 2014 Hong Kong protests and consists of Youngspiration, Kowloon East Community, Tin Shui Wai New Force, Cheung Sha Wan Community Establishment Power, Tsz Wan Shan Constructive Power and Tuen Mun Community. It was formed to improve prospects in the 2016 Hong Kong Legislative Council election with the slogan of "Hong Kong nation's self-determination".
Professional Power is a political group based in Sai Kung District, Hong Kong. The group is formed and led by Christine Fong, a former member of the Liberal Party. The group markets itself as nonpartisan and currently has four members in the Sai Kung District Council.
Community Sha Tin was a local political group based in Sha Tin formed in 2017 by a group of pro-democracy Sha Tin District Councillors. It was disbanded in 2021 following the change of political atmosphere in Hong Kong.
Ting Tsz-yuen is a Hong Kong pro-democracy politician and a former member of the Sha Tin District Council for Kam Ying. A former Frontier and Democratic Party member, Ting is also a current convenor of the local political group Community Sha Tin and the deputy convenor of the Community Alliance. Mr Ting born in Hong Kong, and his ancestral hometown is Dongguan city( 東莞市), Guangdong province.
The Alliance for Social and Economic Advancement is a political party in Hong Kong. The party was founded on 10 September 2019 and is led by Herman Yuen. The party describes itself as part of a "construction camp", preferring to focus on citizen livelihood and public policy rather than politics. The party fielded three candidates in the 2019 Hong Kong local elections. In response to criticism regarding the party only fielding candidates in constituencies held by pro-Beijing district councillors, Yuen said the choice of constituencies was made based on familiarity with each area and a dissatisfaction with livelihood work there. Although the party is part of the pro-Beijing camp, it believes that the government's response to the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests has been ineffective and that the government should better listen to its people.
Tsz Wan Shan Constructive Power was a local political group based in Tsz Wan Shan of Wong Tai Sin District founded in January 2015 by a group of HKGolden netizens. Inspired by the Umbrella Revolution, the group contested in the 2015 District Council election but failed to win any seats. It won two seats in a historic pro-democracy landslide in 2019 District Council election.
Cheung Sha Wan Community Establishment Power was a local political group based in Cheung Sha Wan of Sham Shui Po District founded in 2015. Inspired by the Umbrella Revolution, the group contested in the 2015 District Council election but failed to win any seats. It won one seat in a historic pro-democracy landslide in 2019 District Council election, occupied by its convenor Leos Lee Man-ho.
Christine Choi Yuk-lin, is the current Secretary for Education in Hong Kong, formerly the principal of Fukien Secondary School and vice-chairlady of Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers.
The A4 Alliance is a political alliance of four independent lawmakers in the Legislative Council of Hong Kong.