Freedom of the Press in Hong Kong, China
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Reviewing and Evaluating the Direct Elections to the Legislative Council and the Transformation of Political Parties in Hong Kong, 1991-2016
Journal of US-China Public Administration, August 2016, Vol. 13, No. 8, 499-517 doi: 10.17265/1548-6591/2016.08.001 D DAVID PUBLISHING Reviewing and Evaluating the Direct Elections to the Legislative Council and the Transformation of Political Parties in Hong Kong, 1991-2016 Chung Fun Steven Hung The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong After direct elections were instituted in Hong Kong, politicization inevitably followed democratization. This paper intends to evaluate how political parties’ politics happened in Hong Kong’s recent history. The research was conducted through historical comparative analysis, with the context of Hong Kong during the sovereignty transition and the interim period of democratization being crucial. For the implementation of “one country, two systems”, political democratization was hindered and distinct political scenarios of Hong Kong’s transformation were made. The democratic forces had no alternative but to seek more radicalized politics, which caused a decisive fragmentation of the local political parties where the establishment camp was inevitable and the democratic blocs were split into many more small groups individually. It is harmful. It is not conducive to unity and for the common interests of the publics. This paper explores and evaluates the political history of Hong Kong and the ways in which the limited democratization hinders the progress of Hong Kong’s transformation. Keywords: election politics, historical comparative, ruling, democratization The democratizing element of the Hong Kong political system was bounded within the Legislative Council under the principle of the separation of powers of the three governing branches, Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. Popular elections for the Hong Kong legislature were introduced and implemented for 25 years (1991-2016) and there were eight terms of general elections for the Legislative Council. -
I Am Sorry. Would Members Please Deal with One Piece of Business. It Is Now Eight O’Clock and Under Standing Order 8(2) This Council Should Now Adjourn
4920 HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ― 29 June 1994 8.00 pm PRESIDENT: I am sorry. Would Members please deal with one piece of business. It is now eight o’clock and under Standing Order 8(2) this Council should now adjourn. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Mr President, with your consent, I move that Standing Order 8(2) should be suspended so as to allow the Council’s business this evening to be concluded. Question proposed, put and agreed to. Council went into Committee. CHAIRMAN: Council is now in Committee and is suspended until 15 minutes to nine o’clock. 8.56 pm CHAIRMAN: Committee will now resume. MR MARTIN LEE (in Cantonese): Mr Chairman, thank you for adjourning the debate on my motion so that Members could have a supper break. I hope I can secure a greater chance of success if they listen to my speech after dining. Mr Chairman, on behalf of the United Democrats of Hong Kong (UDHK), I move the amendments to clause 22 except item 12 of schedule 2. The amendments have already been set out under my name in the paper circulated to Members. Mr Chairman, before I make my speech, I would like to raise a point concerning Mr Jimmy McGREGOR because he was quite upset when he heard my previous speech. He hoped that I could clarify one point. In fact, I did not mean that all the people in the commercial sector had not supported democracy. If all the voters in the commercial sector had not supported democracy, Mr Jimmy McGREGOR would not have been returned in the 1988 and 1991 elections. -
The Basic Law and Democratization in Hong Kong
THE BASIC LAW AND DEMOCRATIZATION IN HONG KONG Michael C. Davis† I. Introduction Hong Kong’s status as a Special Administrative Region of China has placed it on the foreign policy radar of most countries having relations with China and interests in Asia. This interest in Hong Kong has encouraged considerable inter- est in Hong Kong’s founding documents and their interpretation. Hong Kong’s constitution, the Hong Kong Basic Law (“Basic Law”), has sparked a number of debates over democratization and its pace. It is generally understood that greater democratization will mean greater autonomy and vice versa, less democracy means more control by Beijing. For this reason there is considerable interest in the politics of interpreting Hong Kong’s Basic Law across the political spectrum in Hong Kong, in Beijing and in many foreign capitals. This interest is en- couraged by appreciation of the fundamental role democratization plays in con- stitutionalism in any society. The dynamic interactions of local politics and Beijing and foreign interests produce the politics of constitutionalism in Hong Kong. Understanding the Hong Kong political reform debate is therefore impor- tant to understanding the emerging status of both Hong Kong and China. This paper considers the politics of constitutional interpretation in Hong Kong and its relationship to developing democracy and sustaining Hong Kong’s highly re- garded rule of law. The high level of popular support for democratic reform in Hong Kong is a central feature of the challenge Hong Kong poses for China. Popular Hong Kong values on democracy and human rights have challenged the often undemocratic stance of the Beijing government and its supporters. -
Hong Kong's Endgame and the Rule of Law (Ii): the Battle Over "The People" and the Business Community in the Transition to Chinese Rule
HONG KONG'S ENDGAME AND THE RULE OF LAW (II): THE BATTLE OVER "THE PEOPLE" AND THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY IN THE TRANSITION TO CHINESE RULE JACQUES DELISLE* & KEVIN P. LANE- 1. INTRODUCTION Transitional Hong Kong's endgame formally came to a close with the territory's reversion to Chinese rule on July 1, 1997. How- ever, a legal and institutional order and a "rule of law" for Chi- nese-ruled Hong Kong remain works in progress. They will surely bear the mark of the conflicts that dominated the final years pre- ceding Hong Kong's legal transition from British colony to Chinese Special Administrative Region ("S.A.R."). Those endgame conflicts reflected a struggle among adherents to rival conceptions of a rule of law and a set of laws and institutions that would be adequate and acceptable for Hong Kong. They unfolded in large part through battles over the attitudes and allegiance of "the Hong Kong people" and Hong Kong's business community. Hong Kong's Endgame and the Rule of Law (I): The Struggle over Institutions and Values in the Transition to Chinese Rule ("Endgame I") focused on the first aspect of this story. It examined the political struggle among members of two coherent, but not monolithic, camps, each bound together by a distinct vision of law and sover- t Special Series Reprint: Originally printed in 18 U. Pa. J. Int'l Econ. L. 811 (1997). Assistant Professor, University of Pennsylvania Law School. This Article is the second part of a two-part series. The first part appeared as Hong Kong's End- game and the Rule of Law (I): The Struggle over Institutions and Values in the Transition to Chinese Rule, 18 U. -
Hong Kong Watch * * * * * * * International Parliamentarians
Hong Kong Watch * * * * * * * International parliamentarians condemn today’s imprisonment of the ‘most moderate and distinguished’ pro-democracy activists Today, authorities in Hong Kong have sentenced nine prominent pro-democracy activists for taking part in a peaceful protest in August 2019, including the the ‘father of Hong Kong’s democracy’ Martin Lee, ‘the owner of Apple Daily Jimmy Lai, and international barrister Margaret Ng. The nine pro-democracy activists which span the generations have received jail sentences and suspended sentences, with Jimmy Lai receiving 12 months, Lee Cheuk-yan receiving 12 months, Leung Kwok-hung receiving 18 months, Au Nok-hin receiving 10 months, and Cyd Ho receiving 8 months in prison and Margaret Ng receiving 12 month suspended sentence, Martin Lee receiving 11 months suspended sentence, Albert Ho receiving 12 months suspended sentence, and Leung Yiu-chung receiving an 8 month suspended sentence for the charge of ‘unlawful assembly’. U.N. Special Rapporteurs for human rights have previously called for the Hong Kong Government to withdraw the Public Order Ordinance which allows authorities to criminalise peaceful protest describing it as an assault on freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. A group of international parliamentarians led by Hong Kong Watch’s patron and the last British governor of Hong Kong, Lord Patten, have responded to the sentencing of the prominent pro-democracy activists. Their comments follow calls from over 100 UK MPs for the sanctioning of Hong Kong officials. U.K. Lord Patten of Barnes said: “The CCP's comprehensive assault on the freedoms of Hong Kong and its rule of law continues relentlessly. -
China-Taiwan: Strains Over Cross-Strait Relations
China-Taiwan Relations: Election Drama and Implications David G. Brown The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies The presidential campaign and referendum issue dominated cross-Strait relations this quarter. Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian’s narrow reelection victory gives him a weak mandate to lead a society deeply divided over the issue of Taiwan’s national identity and future relationship with China. The election outcome reflects the extent to which opinion on Taiwan has moved away from the “one China” concept in the eight years since Taiwan’s first direct presidential election in 1996. With the campaign over, President Chen now faces concrete choices about how to pursue cross-Strait relations, and Beijing is confronted with difficult choices and the need to review its policies toward Taiwan. Washington can expect to be caught in the middle and to be challenged to find effective ways to deter President Chen from changing the cross-Strait status quo. Campaign and referendum Chen Shui-bian, a skillful campaigner, shaped the campaign agenda with his slogan “Believe in Taiwan; Insist on Reform.” His proposal for Taiwan’s first island-wide referendum, which he portrayed as a step for reform and deepening democracy, was the principal issue debated in the campaign. The opposition KMT- Peoples First Party (PFP) alliance charged that the referendum was illegal and that linking it to the election was mainly a campaign ploy to boost Chen’s support. The pan-blue (KMT-PFP) camp tried to make the economy, cross-Strait peace, and Chen’s poor record campaign issues, but Chen deftly sidestepped their charges. -
OFFICIAL RECORD of PROCEEDINGS Thursday, 21
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 21 December 2000 2261 OFFICIAL RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Thursday, 21 December 2000 The Council met at Nine o'clock MEMBERS PRESENT: THE PRESIDENT THE HONOURABLE MRS RITA FAN HSU LAI-TAI, G.B.S., J.P. THE HONOURABLE KENNETH TING WOO-SHOU, J.P. THE HONOURABLE JAMES TIEN PEI-CHUN, J.P. THE HONOURABLE DAVID CHU YU-LIN THE HONOURABLE CYD HO SAU-LAN THE HONOURABLE ALBERT HO CHUN-YAN IR DR THE HONOURABLE RAYMOND HO CHUNG-TAI, J.P. THE HONOURABLE LEE CHEUK-YAN THE HONOURABLE MARTIN LEE CHU-MING, S.C., J.P. THE HONOURABLE ERIC LI KA-CHEUNG, J.P. DR THE HONOURABLE DAVID LI KWOK-PO, J.P. THE HONOURABLE FRED LI WAH-MING, J.P. DR THE HONOURABLE LUI MING-WAH, J.P. 2262 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 21 December 2000 THE HONOURABLE NG LEUNG-SING PROF THE HONOURABLE NG CHING-FAI THE HONOURABLE MARGARET NG THE HONOURABLE MRS SELINA CHOW LIANG SHUK-YEE, J.P. THE HONOURABLE JAMES TO KUN-SUN THE HONOURABLE CHEUNG MAN-KWONG THE HONOURABLE HUI CHEUNG-CHING THE HONOURABLE CHAN KWOK-KEUNG THE HONOURABLE CHAN YUEN-HAN THE HONOURABLE BERNARD CHAN THE HONOURABLE CHAN KAM-LAM THE HONOURABLE MRS SOPHIE LEUNG LAU YAU-FUN, S.B.S., J.P. THE HONOURABLE LEUNG YIU-CHUNG THE HONOURABLE SIN CHUNG-KAI THE HONOURABLE ANDREW WONG WANG-FAT, J.P. DR THE HONOURABLE PHILIP WONG YU-HONG THE HONOURABLE WONG YUNG-KAN THE HONOURABLE JASPER TSANG YOK-SING, J.P. THE HONOURABLE HOWARD YOUNG, J.P. DR THE HONOURABLE YEUNG SUM LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 21 December 2000 2263 THE HONOURABLE YEUNG YIU-CHUNG THE HONOURABLE LAU KONG-WAH THE HONOURABLE LAU WONG-FAT, G.B.S., J.P. -
DEFENDING a LANGUAGE: the CANTONESE UMBRELLA MOVEMENT by Joshua S
DEFENDING A LANGUAGE: THE CANTONESE UMBRELLA MOVEMENT by Joshua S. Bacon A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Purdue University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Communication at Purdue Fort Wayne Fort Wayne, Indiana May 2020 THE PURDUE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL STATEMENT OF COMMITTEE APPROVAL Dr. Wei Luo, Chair Department of Communication Dr. Steven A. Carr Department of Communication Dr. Assem A. Nasr Department of Communication Dr. Lee M. Roberts Department of International Language and Culture Studies Approved by: Dr. Wei Luo 2 Dedicated to the Cantonese people 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ...............................................................................................................................5 CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................6 CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW.................................................................................... 15 Cantonese as a Hong Kong Identity Language ........................................................................ 15 Putonghua as a Colonizing Language ..................................................................................... 18 Cantonese in the Umbrella Movement .................................................................................... 23 Summary ................................................................................................................................ 24 CHAPTER 3. THEORY AND METHODS -
PDF Full Report
Heightening Sense of Crises over Press Freedom in Hong Kong: Advancing “Shrinkage” 20 Years after Returning to China April 2018 YAMADA Ken-ichi NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute Media Research & Studies _____________________________ *This article is based on the same authors’ article Hong Kong no “Hodo no Jiyu” ni Takamaru Kikikan ~Chugoku Henkan kara 20nen de Susumu “Ishuku”~, originally published in the December 2017 issue of “Hoso Kenkyu to Chosa [The NHK Monthly Report on Broadcast Research]”. Full text in Japanese may be accessed at http://www.nhk.or.jp/bunken/research/oversea/pdf/20171201_7.pdf 1 Introduction Twenty years have passed since Hong Kong was returned to China from British rule. At the time of the 1997 reversion, there were concerns that Hong Kong, which has a laissez-faire market economy, would lose its economic vigor once the territory is put under the Chinese Communist Party’s one-party rule. But the Hong Kong economy has achieved generally steady growth while forming closer ties with the mainland. However, new concerns are rising that the “One Country, Two Systems” principle that guarantees Hong Kong a different social system from that of China is wavering and press freedom, which does not exist in the mainland and has been one of the attractions of Hong Kong, is shrinking. On the rankings of press freedom compiled by the international journalists’ group Reporters Without Borders, Hong Kong fell to 73rd place in 2017 from 18th in 2002.1 This article looks at how press freedom has been affected by a series of cases in the Hong Kong media that occurred during these two decades, in line with findings from the author’s weeklong field trip in mid-September 2017. -
Chapter 6 Hong Kong
CHAPTER 6 HONG KONG Key Findings • The Hong Kong government’s proposal of a bill that would allow for extraditions to mainland China sparked the territory’s worst political crisis since its 1997 handover to the Mainland from the United Kingdom. China’s encroachment on Hong Kong’s auton- omy and its suppression of prodemocracy voices in recent years have fueled opposition, with many protesters now seeing the current demonstrations as Hong Kong’s last stand to preserve its freedoms. Protesters voiced five demands: (1) formal with- drawal of the bill; (2) establishing an independent inquiry into police brutality; (3) removing the designation of the protests as “riots;” (4) releasing all those arrested during the movement; and (5) instituting universal suffrage. • After unprecedented protests against the extradition bill, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam suspended the measure in June 2019, dealing a blow to Beijing which had backed the legislation and crippling her political agenda. Her promise in September to formally withdraw the bill came after months of protests and escalation by the Hong Kong police seeking to quell demonstrations. The Hong Kong police used increasingly aggressive tactics against protesters, resulting in calls for an independent inquiry into police abuses. • Despite millions of demonstrators—spanning ages, religions, and professions—taking to the streets in largely peaceful pro- test, the Lam Administration continues to align itself with Bei- jing and only conceded to one of the five protester demands. In an attempt to conflate the bolder actions of a few with the largely peaceful protests, Chinese officials have compared the movement to “terrorism” and a “color revolution,” and have im- plicitly threatened to deploy its security forces from outside Hong Kong to suppress the demonstrations. -
HONG KONG: the PERILS of SEMIDEMOCRACY William H
Overholt.new created saved from e-mail by JB on 7/2/01. (6682 words.) PRE created from NEW by SL on 7/ 18. TXT created from NEW w/ PJC edits on 8/1/01(5644 w/notes); JB edits to TXT entered 8/7, PJC (5683 wds. w/notes). PRE revised with TXT by SL on 8/7. MP changes to TXT by PJC on 8/9/01(5750 words w/ notes); Aas to TXT 8/16, PJC (6149 wds w/notes). PRE revised with TXT by SL on 8/24. PGS created from PRE by SL on 8/24. HONG KONG: THE PERILS OF SEMIDEMOCRACY William H. Overholt William H. Overholt is head of Asia strategy and economics for Nomura International, a Japan-based securities firm with offices in Hong Kong and around the world. He holds a doctorate in political science from Yale University and is the author of five books, including most recently The Rise of China: How Economic Reform Is Creating a New Superpower (1994). At the time of Hong Kong’s 1997 transition from British to Chinese rule, the world saw the city as a laissez-faire enclave that took care of itself, while an able but mostly hands-off civil service did minor maintenance. A successful transition would mean little more than a changing of the guard, with local functionaries replacing colonial functionaries. There was, in this widely held view, no need for any larger reform of the economy or polity. Beijing and London, together with the local business establishment, planned a government that they all hoped would combine representative deliberativeness with authoritarian decisiveness. -
Chapter 2: the Framework for Change
CHAPTER TWO THE FRAMEWORK FOR CHANGE The Sino-British Joint Declaration on the Question of Hong Kong 1984 2.1 In 1982, Britain initiated negotiations with the People's Republic of China on the status of Hong Kong. Despite the fact that the nineteenth century treaties1 were not recognised by China, Britain's adherence to them and to the legal framework they provided necessitated some settlement which would accommodate the shortening leases in the New Territories. Those leases were due to expire in 1997. What began as a limited exercise in seeking an administrative extension to the lease in the New Territories2 quickly developed into a consideration of the whole territory and the redressing of China's humiliations in the nineteenth century. 2.2 For Britain, the 'permanent territories' of Hong Kong island and the tip of the Kowloon Peninsula were not viable without the New Territories which contained the basic necessity of agriculture, the bulk of the industry, the power supply and the airport of Hong Kong. The negotiations lasted two years. The agreement was initialled by Britain and China on 26 September 1984, endorsed by the Legislative Council3 of Hong Kong on 18 October 1984, subsequently debated and approved by the British Parliament, and signed by Britain and China on 19 December 1984. It entered into force on 25 May 1985. On 12 June 1985 it was lodged with the United Nations as a treaty. 2.3 In China, 1982-84 was a period of reformist opening, relatively expansive in its embracing of the West. Deng Xiaoping himself took a special interest in the negotiations over Hong Kong and defined the principle of 'one country, two systems' as a way of allaying British and Hong Kong concerns about the transfer and of preserving the economic prosperity of Hong Kong which he recognised as being so valuable to China's development.