Political parties and political participation in Hong Kong Speaker: Fong Chi Hang, Brian

Political parties and Political parties and

political participation in Hong Kongpolitical participation in Hong Kong

Speaker: Fong Chi Hang, BrianSpeaker: Fong Chi Hang, Brian

BiographyBiography

Lecturer, Division of Social Studies,

City University of Hong Kong

Vice Chairman, SynergyNet

Convenor, Communication Group of

the Alliance for Universal Suffrage

Part-time Member, Central Policy Unit

of HKSAR Government

ContentsContents

A theoretical overview of political party and

political participation

Political parties and party politics in Hong Kong

Constraints on the development of party politics

in Hong Kong

Impacts of underdevelopment of party politics

A theoretical overview of

political party and political participation

Definition of political participationDefinition of political participation

In political science, political participation is defined as “actions of

private citizens seeking to influence or support government and

politics” (Milbrath and Goel, 1977).

Different forms of political participation:

- Running for electoral offices

- Organizing and joining political parties

- Forming and joining interest groups / civil society groups

- Casting votes in elections

- Engaging in protests and rallies

- Making phone calls to radio talk shows, Internet mobilization.

Political participation in colonial Hong KongPolitical participation in colonial Hong Kong

Political participation is largely affected

by the nature of political system and

political culture.

In colonial Hong Kong, political

participation was very limited because

of the closed nature of the colonial

governance system and “refugee

mentality” of the local population.

The situation has changed since 1980s

……

Definition of political partyDefinition of political party

In political science, a political

party is defined as “a group of

people that is organized for the

purpose of winning government

power, by electoral or other

means” (Heywood, 2002).

Four characteristics of political partyFour characteristics of political party

Parties aim to exercise government power by

winning government power;

Parties are organized bodies with a formal “card

carrying” membership;

Parties typically adopt broad issue focus,

addressing each of the major areas of

government policy; and

Parties are united by shared political

preferences and a general ideological identity.

Functions of political partyFunctions of political party

Representation

Recruitment of political leaders

Policy initiation

Interest articulation and aggregation

Political mobilization and

socialization

Organization of government

Political parties and

party politics in Hong Kong

The development of party politics in Hong KongThe development of party politics in Hong Kong

The Sino-British negotiations in

1982 – 84

The Beijing democracy movement

in 1989

The landslide victory of UDHK in

the 1991 Legco election

The development of party politics in Hong The development of party politics in Hong

KongKong

Debates over Chris Patten’s

constitutional reforms in 1992 – 94

The reorganization of political

parties after 1997

Hong Kong’s political spectrumHong Kong’s political spectrum

In most of the countries, political parties are

distinguished according to their ideological

orientation, i.e. the left-right political spectrum.

Pro-democracy VS pro-ChinaPro-democracy VS pro-China

Political parties in Hong Kong are not

distinguished according to the left-right

political spectrum, but are divided into two

major camps according to their political

positions on:

(1) Democratic development;

(2) Attitudes towards the Beijing and

Hong Kong Governments; and

(3) Political values.

Pro-democracy VS pro-ChinaPro-democracy VS pro-China

Position on Democratic Development

Attitudes towards Beijing and

HKSAR Government

Political valuesMajor

Political Parties

Pro-democracy camp

Advocates early implementation of universal suffrage

Adopts a more critical attitude towards the CPG and the HKSAR Government

Put emphasis on values such as human rights, civil liberty and rule of rule

DP CP LSD ADPL

Pro-China camp

Adopts a more conservative approach towards constitutional reform

Enjoys a better relationship with the Chinese and Hong Kong Governments

Stress on values like stability and prosperity with little emphasis on human rights and the rule of law issues

DAB LP

Hong Kong’s political spectrumHong Kong’s political spectrum

Parties’ different positionParties’ different position

- Political VS socio-economic issues- Political VS socio-economic issues

法案 / 議案動議 / 議案修訂(2004 – 2008)

民主黨公民黨民建聯自由黨表決結果

普選行政長官重點：立法會認為 2012年適合普選行政長官 (動議 )

支持支持棄權棄權否決

普選立法會重點：立法會認為 2012年或之前適合以普選方式產生立法會所有議員 (動議 )

支持支持反對反對否決

香港電台轉型為「香港公共廣播公司」重點：促請政府就香港電台未來的角色、定位和發展路向作出檢討，積極研究把香港電台轉型為「香港公共廣播公司」 (動議 )

支持支持棄權 / 沒有投票

棄權 / 沒有投票

否決

《截取通訊及監察條例草案》重點：二讀草案

反對反對支持支持通過

Source: SynergyNet, 2008

Parties’ different positionParties’ different position

- Political VS socio-economic issues- Political VS socio-economic issues

法案 / 議案動議 / 議案修訂(2004 – 2008)

民主黨公民黨民建聯自由黨表決結果

反對開徵商品及服務稅重點：反對開徵商品及服務稅 (動議 )

支持支持支持支持通過

制定公平競爭法例重點：促請政府檢討現行公平競爭政策，研究制定公平競爭法例的可行性，以保障香港的營商環境 (動議 )

支持支持支持反對否決

最低工資、最高工時重點：促請政府落實最低工資、最高工時(動議 )

支持支持支持反對否決


Constraints on the

development of party politics in Hong Kong

Major obstacles on party developmentMajor obstacles on party development The CPG’s anti-party stance

The existence of Functional Constituency

seats in the Legco

Effect of the proportional representation

electoral system

Abolition of the Municipal Councils

Restrictions on the power of Legislative

Council after 1997

Hong Kong people’s skepticism about

partisan politics

The CPG’s anti-party stanceThe CPG’s anti-party stance

The CPG does not want to see the

formation of a governing party.

Rather, the CPG is more inclined to

a bipartisan Chief Executive who

brokers interests between various

local political forces.

The existence of Functional Constituency seats in the Legco

Half of the seats in the Legco are elected by FC with very

narrow franchise.

Number of independents Legislative Councillors

95 - 97 98 - 00 00 - 04 04 - 08

DP 19 13 12 9

DAB 6 9 9 12

LP 10 10 8 10

CP - - - 6

Other pro-democracy groups 9 5 6 4

Other pro-China groups 4 7 7 3

Independents 12 16 18 16

Source: Ma, 2007

The existence of Functional Constituency seats in the Legco

The FC systems provides good

protection to the business

sector and hinders the

development of pro-business

parties.

Effect of the proportional representation electoral system

Fighting for higher positions

on the party list under the

PR system.

Encouraged independents to

run and large parties to split

lists.

It weakens the solidarity

and centralization of

political parties.

Abolition of the Municipal Councils

Before 1997: three levels of

councils (District Boards,

Municipal Councils and Legco)

After 1997: two levels of councils

(District Councils and Legco)

This created a big gap in upward

mobility for party politicians.

Restrictions on the power of Legislative Restrictions on the power of Legislative

Council after 1997Council after 1997

Article 74 of the Basic Law

The voting-by-group system

Restrictions on the power of Legislative Restrictions on the power of Legislative Council after 1997Council after 1997

Composition 1995 - 97 1998 - 2004 2004 - 08

Private member’s bill proposed 53 12 9

Private member’s bill passed 26 12 9

Private member’s bill success rate 49.1% 100% 100%

Source: Ma, 2007

Declining number of private member’s billsDeclining number of private member’s bills



Private members’ bills passed in 2004-08Private members’ bills passed in 2004-08


Composition 1991 - 95 1995 - 97 1998 - 2000 2000 - 04

Members’ amendment proposed 219 138 102 46

Members’ amendment passed 136 98 15 5

Members’ amendment success rate 62.1% 71% 14.7% 10.9%

Source: Ma, 2007

Declining success rates of member’s bill amendmentsDeclining success rates of member’s bill amendments


Legco termNumber of Motions

TabledNumber of Motions

RejectedRejecting Rate

2004-2005 59 11 16.9%

2005-2006 58 12 20.7%

2006-2007 56 11 19.6%

2007-2008 36 4 11.1%


Number of motions rejected under voting-by-group system in 2004-08Number of motions rejected under voting-by-group system in 2004-08

Hong Kong people’s skepticismHong Kong people’s skepticismabout partisan politicsabout partisan politics

Hong Kong people

remain skeptical

about party politics

and the term

“political party”

carries negative

connotations in

people’s minds.

Source: Lingnan University, 2009

Impacts of underdevelopment of party politicsImpacts of underdevelopment of party politics

Problems in governance:

The lack of governing party in Hong Kong points to

the fact that the HKSAR Government has no effective

political machine to engineer social support for its

policy programmes.

Problems in recruitment of political leaders:

Local parties are less effective in training and

recruiting political talents.

Summary of the lectureSummary of the lecture

Political party is a group of people that is

organized for the purpose of winning

government power.

Political parties in Hong Kong are

divided into two major camps according

to their political positions on democratic

development and attitudes towards the

Beijing and Hong Kong Governments.

Summary of the lectureSummary of the lecture

Party development in Hong Kong is

hindered by a number of factors, including

the CPG’s anti-party stance, people’s

skepticism about partisan politics and the

undemocratic nature of Hong Kong’s

political system.

Underdevelopment of political parties has

already brought about negative impacts on

Hong Kong’s political development and

governance.

Further readingFurther reading

Documents

Political parties and political participation in Hong Kong Speaker: Fong Chi Hang, Brian