political parties and political participation in hong kong speaker: fong chi hang, brian
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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
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
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
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
Source: SynergyNet, 2008
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
Restrictions on the power of Legislative Restrictions on the power of Legislative Council after 1997Council after 1997
Source: SynergyNet, 2008
Private members’ bills passed in 2004-08Private members’ bills passed in 2004-08
Restrictions on the power of Legislative Restrictions on the power of Legislative Council after 1997Council after 1997
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
Restrictions on the power of Legislative Restrictions on the power of Legislative Council after 1997Council after 1997
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%
Source: SynergyNet, 2008
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.
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