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Election Date: September 7, 2008

At stake: Legislative Council

Background

Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region of China. It comprises the island of Hong Kong, Stonecutters' Island, Kowloon Peninsula, and the New Territories on the adjoining mainland. The island of Hong Kong was ceded to Britain in 1841. Stonecutters' Island and Kowloon were annexed in 1860, and the New Territories, which are mainly agricultural lands, were leased from China in 1898 for 99 years.

China took control of Hong Kong from Britain in July 1997. As part of the "one country, two systems" arrangement proposed by Deng Xiaoping, China must allow Hong Kong to be sovereign in all matters—except national security and foreign affairs—until 2047. This includes Hong Kong’s status as a free port. Hong Kong is currently one of the world’s most important financial centres.

Tung Chee-hwa was Hong Kong’s first elected chief executive. He took office on Jul.1, 1997, as Hong Kong became again part of China.

Tung, born in Shanghai, was a businessman with conservative views and ties to the central Chinese government in Beijing. Tung was re-elected in 2002, but he was never truly popular. His administration was affected by the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Critics and opponents—most of them pro-democracy activists—defined Tung as an indecisive leader.

In July 2003, Tung faced massive street demonstrations against a security bill that was seen as an attempt by Beijing to suppress pro-democracy activism in the region. The bill read: “The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall enact laws on its own to prohibit any act of treason, secession, sedition, subversion against the Central People’s Government, or theft of state secrets, to prohibit foreign political organizations or bodies from conducting political activities in the Region, and to prohibit political organizations or bodies of the Region from establishing ties with foreign political organizations or bodies."

Public pressure ultimately forced Tung to drop the bill and shelve it indefinitely. Demonstrators also called for Tung's resignation.

In September 2004, Hong Kong’s 3.2 million registered voters chose 30 members to the 60-seat Legislative Council. The representatives monitor the performance of the government, and play a role in enacting laws, as well as examining and approving budgets. Pro-democracy candidates garnered close to 60 per cent of the vote, but the Central Government in Beijing only allowed 40 per cent of the seats in the Council to be allocated to them.

In March 2005, Tung stepped down citing health reasons.

In June 2005, Donald Tsang was elected unopposed by an 800-member committee to serve as Hong Kong’s chief executive for two years, as an interim substitute of Tung. In March 2007, Tsang won a full four-year term as chief executive, defeating Alan Leong with 649 votes to 123. Tsang was supported by Beijing. Leong was a former leader of the Hong Kong Bar Association and an advocate for democratic reforms in Hong Kong.

Throughout 2007, the people of Hong Kong discussed the possibility of introducing reforms to the democratic process. Two separate proposals were debated by lawmakers. One sought to open the election of the territory’s chief executive to the general public and add 400 directly elected district councillors to the existing 800-member Election Committee. The other initiative dealt with the 60-seat Legislative Council and sought the adoption of a mixed election, whereby half of the seats would be returned by a "single seat single vote" simple majority system. The other half of the seats would be chosen by proportional representation, so that each voter can cast two votes. If approved, the reforms would be implemented in 2012.

On Nov. 19, results from local council elections in Hong Kong showed candidates backed by China’s central communist government winning about two-thirds of the seats available, while the main opposition Democratic Party—a promoter of electoral reforms—secured just over one-half of the seats it contested.

Democratic Party chairman Albert Ho offered to resign after the defeat, but party members urged him to stay.

In December 2007, the Chinese government brought the reform drive to a halt when it decided that the people of Hong Kong will not be able to directly elect the territory’s chief executive until 2017, and the entire Legislative Council until 2020. Democratic movements in Hong Kong protested against Beijing’s ruling.  

2008 Legislative Council Election

Only half of the 60 seats in the Legislative Council are open to direct elections in Hong Kong. The next ballot is scheduled for Sept. 7.

On May 20, chief executive Donald Tsang appointed eight under secretaries as part of the new system of political appointments, whereby the government can select candidates from the financial, legal, academic, communications and medical sectors to work as non-civil servants for a period of five years.

Tsang made the announcement, and warned: "As the political appointment of under secretaries and political assistants is a new arrangement, there is bound to be a period of transition. However, I am confident that they will work closely as a team with the bureau secretaries and our highly professional civil servants in serving Hong Kong."

On Sept. 2, Tsang acknowledged that Hong Kong residents are suffering from rising inflation, saying, “The trend for worsening inflation will continue. (...) We haven’t seen inflation as high as the current level in the past. This situation will remain at least until the autumn of next year.”

Final results gave the group of pro-democracy parties 23 out of the 60 available seats.

The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) won nine seats, meaning it remains the largest party in the legislature. In all, pro-Beijing politicians, led by the DAB, remain the dominant power in the legislative council with 35 seats.

Emily Lau, a well-known pro-democracy lawmaker, discussed the results, saying, “Hong Kong has gone backwards on democracy, human rights and the rule of law. So now that I’m back in, I’m going to fight for these core values.”

Voter turnout was tabled at 45 per cent, 11 points lower than in the previous election four years ago.

Chief executive: Donald Tsang

Legislative Branch: The Legislative Council has 60 members, who serve four-year terms; 30 members are elected by the people through a party-list proportional representation method based on geographical constituencies, and 30 members are chosen through "functional constituencies" (professional or special interest groups).

Results of Last Election:

Legislative Council - Sept. 7, 2008

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