Elections in Hong Kong take place when certain political offices in the government need to be filled. Hong Kong has a multi-party system,with numerous parties in the Legislative Council. The Chief Executive of Hong Kong is nonpartisan but has to work with several parties to form a coalition government.
The Urban Council (UrbCo) was a municipal council in Hong Kong responsible for municipal services on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon. These services were provided by the council's executive arm,the Urban Services Department. Later,the equivalent body for the New Territories was the Regional Council.
Brook Antony Bernacchi was a lawyer and politician in Hong Kong. He was the long-time chairman of the Reform Club of Hong Kong,the then quasi-opposition party in the colony and the longest serving elected officeholder in Hong Kong history,sitting on the Urban Council of Hong Kong,from 1952 to 1981,1983 to 1986 and 1989 to 1995. He was well known for his efforts of pushing direct elections and political reform in Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong Civic Association is one of the longest-existing political organisations in Hong Kong. Established in 1954 by a group of teachers,professionals and businessmen,the Civic Association was one of the two semi-political parties to participate in the Urban Council elections since the 1950s,alongside Reform Club of Hong Kong. They were the only two organisations closest to the opposition parties dominated in the post-war colonial period before the expansion of the franchise in the 1980s.
Hilton Cheong-Leen,CBE,JP was a Hong Kong politician and businessman. He is the longest uninterrupted serving elected officeholder in Hong Kong history as an elected member of the Urban Council of Hong Kong for 34 years from 1957 to 1991. He was also the first Chinese chairman of the council from 1981 to 1986. He had been a long-time chairman of the Hong Kong Civic Association,one of the two quasi-opposition political groups in the post-war Urban Council. From 1973 to 1979,he was appointed unofficial member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. From 1985 to 1988,he was again among the first elected members of the Legislative Council through Urban Council constituency in the first Legislative Council election in 1985.
Elsie Tu,known as Elsie Elliott in her earlier life,was an English-born Hong Kong social activist,elected member of the Urban Council of Hong Kong from 1963 to 1995,and member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong from 1988 to 1995.
The 1995 Hong Kong Legislative Council election for members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo) was held on 17 September 1995. It was the first,and only,fully elected legislative election in the colonial period before transferring Hong Kong's sovereignty to China two years later. The elections returned 20 members from directly elected geographical constituencies,30 members from indirectly elected functional constituencies,and 10 members from elections committee constituency who were elected by all District Board members.
The 1995 Hong Kong Urban Council and Regional Council elections were the municipal elections held on 5 March 1995 for the elected seats of the Urban Council and Regional Council respectively. It was the second of the three-tier elections held in 1995 under Governor Chris Patten's electoral reform,namely the 1994 District Board and 1995 Legislative Council election. The liberal Democratic Party continued its dominance by winning 23 seats in total. Due to the abolishment of the two Councils by Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa in 1999,this election became the last election.
The United Nations Association of Hong Kong was a political organisation formed for promoting the values of the United Nations to Hong Kong residents. It was founded by Director of Sincere Co. Ltd Ma Man-fai in 1953.
The Hong Kong Chinese Reform Association is a pro-Beijing political organisation established in 1949 in Hong Kong. It was one of the three pillars of the pro-Communist leftist camp throughout most of the time in Hong Kong under colonial rule.
The 1952 Hong Kong Urban Council election was held on 30 May 1952 for the two elected seats of the Urban Council of Hong Kong. It was the first Urban Council election since the end of the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong,the previous election having been held in 1940. Barrister Brook Bernacchi of the Reform Club of Hong Kong and William Louey,chief manager of Kowloon Motor Bus won the two seats.
The 1986 Hong Kong Urban Council and Regional Council elections were the municipal elections held on 6 March 1986 for the elected seats of the Urban Council for Hong Kong Island,Kowloon and New Kowloon and newly created Regional Council for the rest of the New Territories respectively.
The 1953 Hong Kong Urban Council election was held on 20 May 1953 for the four elected seats of the Urban Council of Hong Kong.
The 1955 Hong Kong Urban Council election was held on 30 March 1955 for the two of the four elected seats of the Urban Council of Hong Kong. It was the fourth Urban Council election in the post-war period.
The 1957 Hong Kong Urban Council election was held on 8 March 1957 for the four of the eight elected seats of the Urban Council of Hong Kong. Since this election the term of the members was extended from two years to four years.
The 1961 Hong Kong Urban Council election was supposed to be held in March 1961 for the four of the eight elected seats of the Urban Council of Hong Kong.
The 1963 Hong Kong Urban Council election was held on 7 March 1963 for the four of the eight elected seats of the Urban Council of Hong Kong. Elsie Elliott,educator and social activist was first elected to the council on the Reform Club ticket,while lawyer Cheung Wing-in became the new elected member for the Hong Kong Civic Association.
Percy Chen was a Chinese Trinidadian lawyer of Hakka descent,as well as a journalist,businessman and political activist.
The Young Plan was a constitutional reform proposal carried out in 1946 attempting to introduce representative democracy in Colonial Hong Kong. Named after the then Governor,Mark Young,it was the first major reform proposal to give Hong Kong inhabitants a greater share of managing their own affairs by widening the base of Hong Kong's political system through the creation of a new Municipal Council. The proposed Council was to consist of an elected majority based on a fairly wide franchise,with powers and autonomy over all urban services,education,social welfare,town planning and other functions. It even allowed for indirect election of two Unofficial Members of the Legislative Council (LegCo) by the new Council.
Liberalism has a long tradition as an economic philosophy since the founding of Hong Kong as an entrepôt which cherishes private property,the free market,and free trade. In recent decades,Hong Kong has earned its international reputation as one of the "freest economies in the world". As a political trend,liberalism has become the driving force of the democratic movement since the 1980s which is mainly represented by the pro-democracy camp which strives for the universal suffrage,human rights and rule of law in Hong Kong.
