Hong Kong district councils election, 2011
Encyclopedia
The 2011 Hong Kong District Councils election was held on 6 November 2011. Elections were held to all 18 districts of Hong Kong
, returning 412 members from directly elected constituencies, each selecting a council member. Pro-Beijing camps won the most seats from this election.
for decades. In 2005, a constitutional reform package was carried out by Donald Tsang
, the Chief Executive. However, it was voted down by the pan-democrats as it did not state a clear timetable or road map to achieve an ultimate universal suffrage.
On 29 December 2007, the NPCSC (China's Standing Committee of the National People's Congress) announced that the Chief Executive and all members of Legislative Council may be selected by universal suffrage in 2017 and 2020 respectively. The statement by Beijing
was unclear and it implied the term "universal suffrage" may be defined by the Central Government.
Afterward, Donald Tsang carried out another reform package in 2009. While the Civic Party
and the League of Social Democrats
councilors resigned from Legislative Council in order to launch a de facto referendum
against the package and urging for real universal suffrage, their ally, the Democratic Party
went for negotiation with the mainland officials and carried out a revised proposal. On 24-25 June 2010, the revised package was passed through the Legislative Council
. It brought out a major split within the pan-democracy camp. A new radical party, People Power
led by Raymond Wong
and Albert Chan
was announced to punish those who betrayal the cause of democracy.
According to the new reform package, general public are allowed to elect district council members into LegCo from the new five-seat district council functional constituency following their nomination within the councillors in the 2012 election
. District councils election thus become a new battlefield for the new five seats of LegCo.
DAB secured the most seats. Albert Ho
managed to hold his seat, but many other pro-democracy camp
heavy weights lost their seat including Tanya Chan
, Ronny Tong
and Lee Cheuk-yan. Democratic Party
vice chairman Sin Chung-kai said "the people in Hong Kong have spoken clearly. This is a warning to the pro-democracy camp".
has long been donating money to many supporters of democracy groups. For example the Democratic Party
received HK$13,690,000 from 2006 to 2010. While the Civic Party
received HK$14,566,500 for the same period. Democracy supporter Catholic
Cardinal Joseph Zen was also seen receiving more than HK$20 million. The radical League of Social Democrats
received HK$1 million last year, while former chief secretary Anson Chan
received HK$1.3 million from 2007 to 2009. According to Sina.com
Lai was said to have donated about $10 million to democracy camp groups in a 5 year span.
However there is a serious shortage of people donating to the democracy camp parties. Since 2009-2010 the top four political parties received a total of $70 million in donations. Out of that sum more than half ($48,370,000) went to just one pro-Beijing party alone, the DAB. This amount was also 2.5x more than the next pro-Beijing camp, Liberal Party
as well as 7x more than the sum received from pro-democracy camp groups like Civic Party and Democratic party.
Other than Jimmy Lai, there seems to be nobody else in HK donating to the democracy camps anymore. According to Emily Lau
, first there is definitely a question of transparency with regards to who is donating money. There is also the issue of revealing donators. The Communist Party of China
bans and punishes people once they know who is donating to democracy camps. In this election, the well-financed pro-Beijing parties swept the polls.
foreign domestic workers in HK
receiving Hong Kong citizenship status. The pro-democracy camps supported Filipinos gaining citizenships if they have stayed long enough in HK. The court case Vallejos v. Commissioner of Registration
was one of the primary case in 2011.
Pro-Beijing DAB have said if 125,000 eligible domestic workers were granted Right of Abode, HK unemployment would soar 3.5% to 7%, and if Filipino spouses were allowed, unemployment would skyrocket to 10%. There were many other budget claims from pro-Beijing camps that showed Filipinos were detrimental to HK society. On the contrary, there are issues from Filipinos exploiting a loophole in HK's law, where as many as 10,000 torture claims have been received since 2005. They also apply for refugee status before the United Nations
under bizarre reasons to receive assistance and extend their stay in HK. Democracy camps were mainly at a disadvantage in this election as many HK residents fear granting Filipinos permanent residency will affect them.
Districts of Hong Kong
The Districts of Hong Kong are the 18 political areas by which Hong Kong is geographically divided. Each district has a district council, which was formerly known as a district board. The districts were established in the early 1980s, when Hong Kong was under British rule...
, returning 412 members from directly elected constituencies, each selecting a council member. Pro-Beijing camps won the most seats from this election.
Background
The Pro-democracy camp in Hong Kong has been urging for universal suffrageUniversal 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...
for decades. In 2005, a constitutional reform package was carried out by 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....
, the Chief Executive. However, it was voted down by the pan-democrats as it did not state a clear timetable or road map to achieve an ultimate universal suffrage.
On 29 December 2007, the NPCSC (China's Standing Committee of the National People's Congress) announced that the Chief Executive and all members of Legislative Council may be selected by universal suffrage in 2017 and 2020 respectively. The statement by Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
was unclear and it implied the term "universal suffrage" may be defined by the Central Government.
Afterward, Donald Tsang carried out another reform package in 2009. While 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...
and the League of Social Democrats
League of Social Democrats
The League of Social Democrats or LSD is a radical pro-democratic political party in Hong Kong. Its declared purpose is to "take a clear-cut stand to defend the interests of the grassroots"...
councilors resigned from Legislative Council in order to launch a de facto referendum
Hong Kong by-election, 2010
The 2010 Hong Kong by-election is an election held on 16 May 2010 in Hong Kong, triggered by the resignation of five pan-democrat Legislative Councillors in January of the same year....
against the package and urging for real universal suffrage, their ally, the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (Hong Kong)
The Democratic Party is a pro-democracy political party in Hong Kong. It was established on 2 October 1994. The party is currently the second largest party in the Legislative Council, headed by Chairman Albert Ho Chun-yan and, following the November 2008 merger with the Frontier, had around 745...
went for negotiation with the mainland officials and carried out a revised proposal. On 24-25 June 2010, the revised package was passed through the Legislative Council
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...
. It brought out a major split within the pan-democracy camp. A new radical party, People Power
People Power (Hong Kong)
People Power , is a political coalition in Hong Kong, taking a radical democratic position. It was established in early 2011 after Raymond Wong and Albert Chan quit the League of Social Democrats, citing disagreement with leader Andrew To and his faction...
led by Raymond Wong
Raymond Wong
-Politicians:*Raymond Wong , radio host, political commentator, and a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong*Raymond Wong , current Permanent Secretary for Education and Manpower of Hong Kong-Cultural figures:...
and Albert Chan
Albert Chan
The Honourable Albert Wai-yip Chan , born 3 March 1955 in Hong Kong) is a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong representing the New Territories West constituency, except for the periods 1997-2000 and Jan-May 2011. Chan is also a member of the Tsuen Wan District Council...
was announced to punish those who betrayal the cause of democracy.
According to the new reform package, general public are allowed to elect district council members into LegCo from the new five-seat district council functional constituency following their nomination within the councillors in the 2012 election
Hong Kong legislative election, 2012
The 2012 Hong Kong legislative election will be held in 2012 for the 5th Legislative Council since the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. There will be 70 seats in the fifth Council, ten more than previously, with 35 Members elected by geographical constituencies through...
. District councils election thus become a new battlefield for the new five seats of LegCo.
Results
A post-handover record of 1.2 million voters cast their ballots. The Pro-Beijing campPro-Beijing Camp
The Pro-Beijing Camp, pro-Establishment Camp, pan-Establishment Camp is a segment of Hong Kong society that supports the policies and views of the People's Republic of China before and after the handover of Hong Kong in 1997.It is also nicknamed the royalists or loyalists.The term can be used to...
DAB secured the most seats. Albert Ho
Albert Ho
Albert Ho Chun-yan . He is currently secretary general of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China and chairman of the Democratic Party. He is a solicitor and a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong....
managed to hold his seat, but many other pro-democracy camp
Pro-democracy camp
Pro-democracy camp, pan-democracy camp or pan-democrats refer to the politicians and social activists in Hong Kong who support increased democracy and may work together in areas of common interest or by not fielding candidates against one another in elections.Democratic activists are usually...
heavy weights lost their seat including Tanya Chan
Tanya Chan
Tanya Chan Suk-chong is a Legislative Councillor and is a member of the Central and Western District Council of Hong Kong...
, 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....
and Lee Cheuk-yan. Democratic Party
Democratic Party (Hong Kong)
The Democratic Party is a pro-democracy political party in Hong Kong. It was established on 2 October 1994. The party is currently the second largest party in the Legislative Council, headed by Chairman Albert Ho Chun-yan and, following the November 2008 merger with the Frontier, had around 745...
vice chairman Sin Chung-kai said "the people in Hong Kong have spoken clearly. This is a warning to the pro-democracy camp".
Unbalance donation issues
Just one month before the election in October 2011, a leaked document revealed that Jimmy Lai, media mogul of Apple DailyApple Daily
Apple Daily is a Hong-Kong-based tabloid-style newspaper founded in 1995 by Jimmy Lai Chee Ying and is published by its company, Next Media. A sister publication carrying the same name is published in Taiwan, Republic of China under a joint venture between Next Media and other Taiwanese companies...
has long been donating money to many supporters of democracy groups. For example the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (Hong Kong)
The Democratic Party is a pro-democracy political party in Hong Kong. It was established on 2 October 1994. The party is currently the second largest party in the Legislative Council, headed by Chairman Albert Ho Chun-yan and, following the November 2008 merger with the Frontier, had around 745...
received HK$13,690,000 from 2006 to 2010. While 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...
received HK$14,566,500 for the same period. Democracy supporter Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
Cardinal Joseph Zen was also seen receiving more than HK$20 million. The radical League of Social Democrats
League of Social Democrats
The League of Social Democrats or LSD is a radical pro-democratic political party in Hong Kong. Its declared purpose is to "take a clear-cut stand to defend the interests of the grassroots"...
received HK$1 million last year, while former chief secretary Anson Chan
Anson Chan
Anson Maria Elizabeth Chan Fang On-sang GBM GCMG CBE JP was a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong for Hong Kong Island, succeeding the late legislator Ma Lik....
received HK$1.3 million from 2007 to 2009. According to Sina.com
Sina.com
SINA is an online media company for China and Chinese communities around the world. SINA operates four major business lines: Sina Weibo, SINA Mobile, SINA Online, and SINA.net. SINA has over 100 million registered users worldwide...
Lai was said to have donated about $10 million to democracy camp groups in a 5 year span.
However there is a serious shortage of people donating to the democracy camp parties. Since 2009-2010 the top four political parties received a total of $70 million in donations. Out of that sum more than half ($48,370,000) went to just one pro-Beijing party alone, the DAB. This amount was also 2.5x more than the next pro-Beijing camp, Liberal Party
Liberal Party (Hong Kong)
Liberal Party is a business-friendly liberal conservative political party in Hong Kong.-Party beliefs:The party is known for its conservative and business-friendly policies. Despite being a political party friendly with Beijing, it fits in the centre-right political spectrum...
as well as 7x more than the sum received from pro-democracy camp groups like Civic Party and Democratic party.
Other than Jimmy Lai, there seems to be nobody else in HK donating to the democracy camps anymore. According to Emily Lau
Emily Lau
Emily Lau Wai-hing JP is one of two vice-chairmen of Democratic Party.She was the convenor of The Frontier...
, first there is definitely a question of transparency with regards to who is donating money. There is also the issue of revealing donators. The Communist Party of China
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
bans and punishes people once they know who is donating to democracy camps. In this election, the well-financed pro-Beijing parties swept the polls.
Foreign domestic workers right of abode issues
The pro-Beijing camps were against FilipinoFilipino people
The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....
foreign domestic workers in HK
Foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong
Foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong are foreign domestic workers and housemaids employed by Hongkongers, typically families. They make up approximately 3% of the population of Hong Kong and an overwhelming majority of them are women...
receiving Hong Kong citizenship status. The pro-democracy camps supported Filipinos gaining citizenships if they have stayed long enough in HK. The court case Vallejos v. Commissioner of Registration
Vallejos v. Commissioner of Registration
Vallejos v. Commissioner of Registration is a 2011 court case against the government of Hong Kong by a foreign domestic helper seeking permanent residence and the right of abode in Hong Kong. Because of its subject matter it was commonly referred to in the media as the "maids' residency case"...
was one of the primary case in 2011.
Pro-Beijing DAB have said if 125,000 eligible domestic workers were granted Right of Abode, HK unemployment would soar 3.5% to 7%, and if Filipino spouses were allowed, unemployment would skyrocket to 10%. There were many other budget claims from pro-Beijing camps that showed Filipinos were detrimental to HK society. On the contrary, there are issues from Filipinos exploiting a loophole in HK's law, where as many as 10,000 torture claims have been received since 2005. They also apply for refugee status before the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
under bizarre reasons to receive assistance and extend their stay in HK. Democracy camps were mainly at a disadvantage in this election as many HK residents fear granting Filipinos permanent residency will affect them.