Article 45 Concern Group
Encyclopedia
Basic Law Article 45 Concern Group is a pro-democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...

 political group in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 of the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

. It was established on 14 November 2003 by legal practitioners and academics. It currently has four seats in the Legislative Council of Hong Kong
Legislative Council of Hong Kong
The Legislative Council is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong.-History:The Legislative Council of Hong Kong was set up in 1843 as a colonial legislature under British rule...

.

Party Beliefs

The group originated from the "Basic Law Article 23 Concern Group", which was formed to criticise the HKSAR Government's legislative proposals to implement the controversial Article 23 of the Basic Law
Hong Kong Basic Law Article 23
Hong Kong Basic Law Article 23 is the basis of a security law proposed by the Government of Hong Kong. It states:On 24 September 2002 the government released its proposals for the anti-subversion law. It is the cause of considerable controversy and division in Hong Kong, which operates as a...

 during the proposed legislations' consultation period in 2002-2003. Outspoken members of the group included the barristers Audrey Eu
Audrey Eu
Yuet Mee Audrey Eu , LLB, LLM, SC, JP is a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong and the former leader of the Civic Party.-Education and legal career:...

, Alan Leong
Alan Leong
Kah Kit Alan Leong , SC is a member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, representing the Kowloon East geographical constituency and leader of the Civic Party. He is also vice-chairperson of the Independent Police Complaints Council.-Early career:...

 and Ronny Tong
Ronny Tong
Ronny Tong Ka-wah QC, SC is a Senior Counsel and current member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong , representing the New Territories East constituency. He is also a member of the Civic Party Executive Committee....

, who were all former chairpersons of the Hong Kong Bar Association
Hong Kong Bar Association
The Hong Kong Bar Association is the professional regulatory body for barristers in Hong Kong, and was founded in 1949. Like other professional bodies, the HKBA has the authority to take disciplinary action to the members who breach the Code of Conduct of the Association...

. Their professional and outspoken image established during the Article 23 controversy has led to them being especially popular with the middle class.

After the HKSAR Government shelved the Article 23 proposals, the group renamed itself the Article 45 Concern Group, with the addition of a few members. Its focus changed to push for universal suffrage
Universal suffrage
Universal suffrage consists of the extension of the right to vote to adult citizens as a whole, though it may also mean extending said right to minors and non-citizens...

 in 2007/08. The ultimate aim of universal suffrage for the Chief Executive
Chief Executive of Hong Kong
The Chief Executive of Hong Kong is the President of the Executive Council of Hong Kong and head of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The position was created to replace the Governor of Hong Kong, who was the head of the Hong Kong government during British rule...

 and the Legislative Council is stipulated under Article 45
Hong Kong Basic Law Article 45
Hong Kong Basic Law Article 45 is a controversial article in the Basic Law of Hong Kong. It states that the Chief executive should be chosen by universal suffrage as an eventual goal. Its speedy implementation is advocated by the Basic Law Article 45 Concern Group.-Contents of Article 45:Article...

 and Article 68
Hong Kong Basic Law
The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, or simply Hong Kong Basic Law, serves as the constitutional document of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China...

 of the Basic Law of Hong Kong
Hong Kong Basic Law
The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, or simply Hong Kong Basic Law, serves as the constitutional document of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China...

 respectively.

The group considered universal suffrage by 2007/8 as vital to the protection of human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...

 and the rule of law
Rule of law
The rule of law, sometimes called supremacy of law, is a legal maxim that says that governmental decisions should be made by applying known principles or laws with minimal discretion in their application...

 in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

, and aimed to promote debates on universal suffrage from a legal and constitutional point of view.

Elections

In close collaboration with the democratic camp, several members of the group ran for the 2004 Legislative Council elections and succeeded in gaining four seats in the Council (up from two before the elections). The group remained vocal in criticizing the Chinese and HKSAR Governments for their stance regarding a number of political issues, including the decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
National People's Congress
The National People's Congress , abbreviated NPC , is the highest state body and the only legislative house in the People's Republic of China. The National People's Congress is held in the Great Hall of the People, Beijing, capital of the People's Republic of China; with 2,987 members, it is the...

 of the People's Republic of China not to allow universal suffrage in 2007/08. In line with the pan-democratic camp, it supported gathering "the public's" view on the issue of universal suffrage by means of a referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...

 in 2004.

The group vetoed a critical bill concerning the democratisation of the Hong Kong system in December 2005, saying that the democratic reforms were not far-reaching enough, e.g. did not have a set timetable for universal suffrage, and definitely not by 2007/8 as this group was demanding. Ultimately, this led to the Chief Executive for the HKSAR, Donald Tsang
Donald Tsang
Sir Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, GBM, KBE is the current Chief Executive and President of the Executive Council of the Government of Hong Kong....

, in suggesting that no further reform packages will be introduced for the rest of his current term in office, at least.

The Civic Party

The Group disbanded in March 2006 to form what is now the Civic Party
Civic Party
Civic Party is a liberal democratic political party in Hong Kong.The Civic Party is currently the third largest political party in the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, with five members securing seats in the 2008 Hong Kong Legislative Council elections...

. Apart from the Article 45 Concern Group members, Fernando Cheung
Fernando Cheung
Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung is a Hong Kong politician, the vice-chairman of the Civic Party, he is a former member of the Legislative Council.Cheung worked in the United States from 1988, and became a naturalized United States citizen. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in...

 and Mandy Tam
Mandy Tam
Mandy Tam Heung-man is a former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. She is a tax advisor and also a newspaper columnist for the Hong Kong Economic Journal and other publications....

 joined as well. The Temporary Executive Committee of the Civic Party was established on 19 February 2006.

Founding Members

  • Audrey Eu
    Audrey Eu
    Yuet Mee Audrey Eu , LLB, LLM, SC, JP is a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong and the former leader of the Civic Party.-Education and legal career:...

    , legislator, barrister and former Chairwoman of Hong Kong Bar Association (1997–1999)
  • Ronny Tong
    Ronny Tong
    Ronny Tong Ka-wah QC, SC is a Senior Counsel and current member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong , representing the New Territories East constituency. He is also a member of the Civic Party Executive Committee....

    , legislator, barrister and former Chairman of Hong Kong Bar Association (1999–2001)
  • Alan Leong
    Alan Leong
    Kah Kit Alan Leong , SC is a member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, representing the Kowloon East geographical constituency and leader of the Civic Party. He is also vice-chairperson of the Independent Police Complaints Council.-Early career:...

    , legislator, barrister and former Chairman of Hong Kong Bar Association (2001–2003)
  • Margaret Ng
    Margaret Ng
    Dr Margaret Ng Ngoi Yee is a politician, barrister, writer and columnist in Hong Kong. She has been a member of Legislative Council of Hong Kong since 1995....

    , legislator representing the legal sector and barrister
  • Christine Loh
    Christine Loh
    - External links :* ] ]*...

    , former legislator, has a law degree, runs the private think tank Civic Exchange
    Civic Exchange
    Civic Exchange is a Hong Kong-based, non-partisan public policy think tank and registered charity. It was founded by former Legislative Council of Hong Kong member Christine Loh , and environmental researcher Lisa Hopkinson ....

  • Gladys Li
    Gladys Li
    Gladys Veronica Li, Senior Counsel at the Hong Kong Bar with a busy constitutional law and human rights practice, is a founding member of the Hong Kong Civic Party. She began to take an interest in public affairs on her return to Hong Kong in 1982, after 10 years' practice as a barrister in England...

    , barrister, chairlady of International Commission of Jurists
    International Commission of Jurists
    The International Commission of Jurists is an international human rights non-governmental organization. The Commission itself is a standing group of 60 eminent jurists , including members of the senior judiciary in Australia, Canada, and South Africa and the former UN High Commissioner for Human...

     (Hong Kong section)
  • Johannes Chan
    Johannes Chan
    Johannes Chan Man-mun , SC is the Dean of the Faculty of Law for the University of Hong Kong. He is a practising barrister-at-law who specializes in human rights, constitutional and administrative law...

    , barrister, dean of the Faculty of Law, the University of Hong Kong, Hon SC
  • Michael Davis, attorney of the United States
    United States
    The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

     and professor of law at the Chinese University of Hong Kong
    Chinese University of Hong Kong
    The Chinese University of Hong Kong is a research-led university in Hong Kong.CUHK is the only tertiary education institution in Hong Kong with Nobel Prize winners on its faculty, including Chen Ning Yang, James Mirrlees, Robert Alexander Mundell and Charles K. Kao...

  • Eric Cheung Tat-ming, solicitor; assistant professor at the Faculty of Law, the University of Hong Kong
  • Denis Chang, barrister
  • Mark Daly, solicitor
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