Legislative Council of Hong Kong
Legislative Council of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 香港特別行政區立法會 | |
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Unicameral | |
History | |
Founded |
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Preceded by | Provisional Legislative Council |
Leadership | |
Structure | |
Seats | 90 |
Political groups |
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Elections | |
Central & Western District, Hong Kong | |
Website | |
legco.gov.hk |
Legislative Council of Hong Kong | ||
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Hanyu Pinyin Lìfǎjú | | |
Bopomofo | ㄌㄧˋ ㄈㄚˇ ㄐㄩˊ | |
Wade–Giles | Li4-fa3-chü2 | |
Tongyong Pinyin | Lì-fǎ-jyú | |
IPA | [lî.fà.tɕy̌] | |
Yue: Cantonese | ||
Yale Romanization | Laahp faat guhk | |
Jyutping | laap6 faat3 guk6 | |
IPA | [lɐp̚˨ faːt̚˧ kok̚˨] |
Politics and government of Hong Kong |
Related topics Hong Kong portal |
The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (
The functions of the Legislative Council are to enact, amend or repeal laws; examine and approve budgets, taxation and public expenditure; and raise questions on the work of the government. In addition, the Legislative Council also has the power to endorse the appointment and removal of the judges of the
Following the
The original two groups (GCs and FCs) had constitutional significance. Government bills requires a simple majority of the council for passage, whereas private member bills requires simple majorities in two discrete divisions of geographical members and functional members for passage. Therefore, the directly elected legislators (mainly from the GCs) had minimal influence over government policy and legislative agenda.[citation needed]
The historical Legislative Council of Hong Kong in the British colonial era was created under the 1843 Charter as an advisory council to the Governor. The authority of the colonial legislature expanded throughout its history.[5] A parallel Provisional Legislative Council was put in place by China from 1996 to 1998 to pass laws in anticipation of the Hong Kong handover.
History
This section needs additional citations for verification. (August 2023) |
Colonial period
The Legislative Council of Hong Kong was set up in 1843 for the first time as a colonial legislature under British rule. Hong Kong's first constitution,[5] in the form of Queen Victoria's letters patent, issued on 27 June 1843 and titled the Charter of the Colony of Hong Kong, authorised the establishment of the Legislative Council to advise the Governor of Hong Kong's administration. The council had four official members including the governor who was president of the council when it was first established. The Letters Patent of 1888, which replaced the 1843 charter, added the significant words "and consent" after the words "with the advice".[5] The Legislative Council was initially set up as the advisory body to the governor, and for the most of the time, consisted half of official members, who were the government officials seated in the council, and half of unofficial members who were appointed by the Governor.
After the
The first elections to the Council were held in 1985, followed by the first direct elections of the Legislative Council held in 1991. The Legislative Council became a fully elected legislature for the first time in 1995 and extensively expanded its functions and organisations throughout the last years of the colonial rule.[8]
The People's Republic of China government did not agree with reforms to the Legislative Council enacted by the last Governor Chris Patten in 1994. Therefore, it withdrew the previous so-called "through-train" policy that would have allowed for members elected to the colonial Legislative Council automatically becoming members of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) legislature. Instead, the Beijing government resolved to set up an alternative legislative council in preparation for the return of Hong Kong sovereignty from Britain to China.
Before the 1997
The Provisional Legislative Council, seen as unconstitutional by the British authorities and boycotted by most
Early SAR years
The current HKSAR Legislative Council was established on 1 October 1998 under the
Article 68 of the
In 2010, the
The
2019 crisis and 2021 overhaul
The
On 27 January 2021,
The seventh Legislative Council term, beginning in January 2022, made changes where lawmakers' names were replaced with "a member" or "members" in meeting minutes, a change which the Hong Kong Journalists Association said was negative and that "One one hand, that would make it more difficult for the public to hold lawmakers accountable, and therefore affect how voters may vote."[24]
In April 2023, a survey found that half of Hongkongers were unable to name any serving lawmaker, with another 12% naming somebody not a current lawmaker.[25]
In May 2023, the Legislative Council voted with 100% approval to let the chief executive restrict overseas lawyers from national security cases, following attempts by the government to block Jimmy Lai from hiring Tim Owen as his defense lawyer.[26]
In September 2023, a report found that at least 66% of all bills that were passed were done with less than half of all Legislative Council members present, below the 50% attendance threshold for a quorum.[27]
The Legislative Council Building
The first meetings of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, from 1844 to 1846, were likely convened in the residence of Governor Pottinger (later to be the French Mission Building), still standing at Government Hill. From 1848 to 1954 (interrupted by renovation in 1928-9 and the Japanese occupation in 1941–5), it was housed on the upper floor of the Colonial Secretariat Building, Lower Albert Road, replaced in 1957 by the Annex to the Central Government Offices Main Wing, on the same site.
Unlike many other former and current Commonwealth legislatures, the Hong Kong Legislative Council does not have a ceremonial mace placed in its chambers. However, the high courts of Hong Kong use a mace to open sessions, and it represents the authority and powers of the court.
To provide a long-term solution to the space shortage problem facing both the Government and the Legislative Council, the Government commissioned the Tamar Development for the design and construction of the
Membership composition
Under the 2021 Hong Kong electoral changes initiated by the National People's Congress, the Legislative Council is now composed of 90 members returned from 3 constituencies: the Election Committee Constituency, Functional Constituencies and Geographical Constituencies by popular vote.
No. of Members | Returned by | Voting Method | No. of Voters (2021) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Election Committee Constituency | 40 | Members of the Election Committee | Plurality block voting | 1,448 |
Functional Constituencies | 30 | Members of specified associations or professions | First-past-the-post voting / Plurality block voting | 210,675 (individual voters);
8,579 (body voters) |
Geographical Constituencies | 20 | Direct elections | Single non-transferable vote | 4,472,863 |
The term of office of a member is constitutionally four years except for the first term (1998 to 2000) which was set to be two years according to Article 69 of the
In both the 2008 and 2004 elections, 30 members were directly elected by
According to The Basic Law, while the method for forming the Legislative Council shall be specified in accordance with the principle of gradual and orderly progress, the ultimate aim is to elect all Council members by
In this Legislative Council, 59 of the 90 members elected in the 2021 election were elected for the first time, or were not members of the last Legislative Council. All members are listed by seniority according to the year of the beginning of consecutive service then the order of swearing in (i.e. the number of strokes in the traditional characters of names in Chinese per precedent) with the president of the Legislative Council being ranked first.[30]
Members who did not serve throughout the term are italicised. Supplementary members elected in by-elections are listed below.
Key to changes since legislative election:
- a = change in party allegiance
- b = by-election
Capacity | Constituency | Portrait | Elected Members | Elected Party | Political Alignment | Born | Occupation(s) | Assumed Office | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
President of the Legislative Council | |||||||||
FC | Industrial (First) | Andrew Leung | BPA | Pro-Beijing | 24 February 1951 | Merchant | 2004 | ||
Other members | |||||||||
FC | Catering | Tommy Cheung | Liberal | Pro-Beijing | 30 September 1949 | Merchant Legislative Councillor |
2000 | ||
FC | Commercial (First) | Jeffrey Lam | BPA | Pro-Beijing | 23 October 1951 | Merchant | 2004 | ||
ECC | Election Committee | Starry Lee | DAB | Pro-Beijing | 13 March 1974 | Accountant Legislative Councillor |
2008 | ||
GC | New Territories North East | Chan Hak-kan
|
DAB/NTAS | Pro-Beijing | 24 April 1976 | Legislative Councillor | 2008 | ||
FC | Insurance | Chan Kin-por | Nonpartisan
|
Pro-Beijing | 10 May 1954 | Legislative Councillor Chief Executive |
2008 | ||
ECC | Election Committee | Priscilla Leung | BPA/KWND | Pro-Beijing | 18 November 1960 | Professor Barrister-at-law |
2008 | ||
GC | Hong Kong Island West | Regina Ip | NPP | Pro-Beijing | 24 August 1950 | Chair of Savantas Policy Institute | 2008 | ||
ECC | Election Committee | Paul Tse | Nonpartisan
|
Pro-Beijing | 21 January 1959 | Solicitor | 2008 | ||
GC | New Territories North West | Michael Tien | Roundtable | Pro-Beijing | 26 August 1950 | Legislative Councillor Entrepreneur |
2012 | ||
FC | Agriculture and Fisheries | Steven Ho
|
DAB | Pro-Beijing | 30 November 1979 | Legislative Councillor | 2012 | ||
FC | Transport | Frankie Yick | Liberal | Pro-Beijing | 1953 | Company Director | 2012 | ||
ECC | Election Committee | Ma Fung-kwok | New Forum | Pro-Beijing | 22 July 1955 | Managing Director | 2012 | ||
GC | New Territories South West | Chan Han-pan
|
DAB/NTAS | Pro-Beijing | 1975 | Legislative Councillor | 2012 | ||
ECC | Election Committee | Alice Mak[a]
|
FTU | Pro-Beijing | 1 November 1971 | Legislative Councillor | 2012 | ||
GC | Labour | Kwok Wai-keung | FTU | Pro-Beijing | 15 April 1978 | Legislative Councillor Eastern District Councillor |
2012 | ||
ECC | Election Committee | Elizabeth Quat | DAB | Pro-Beijing | 23 December 1966 | Legislative Councillor | 2012 | ||
FC | Commercial (Second) | Martin Liao | Nonpartisan
|
Pro-Beijing | 1957 | Barrister-at-law | 2012 | ||
FC | Engineering | Lo Wai-kwok | BPA | Pro-Beijing | 25 December 1953 | Engineer | 2012 | ||
FC | Industrial (Second) | Jimmy Ng | BPA | Pro-Beijing | 17 June 1969 | Company Director | 2016 | ||
ECC | Election Committee | Junius Ho | Nonpartisan
|
Pro-Beijing | 4 June 1962 | Solicitor | 2016 | ||
GC | New Territories North West | Holden Chow | DAB | Pro-Beijing | 7 June 1979 | Solicitor | 2016 | ||
FC | Wholesale and Retail | Shiu Ka-fai
|
Liberal | Pro-Beijing | 22 April 1970 | Company Director | 2016 | ||
ECC | Election Committee | Yung Hoi-yan
|
NPP/CF | Pro-Beijing | 7 June 1977 | Barrister-at-law | 2016 | ||
FC | Finance | Chan Chun-ying | Nonpartisan
|
Pro-Beijing | 1961 | Advisor | 2016 | ||
ECC | Election Committee | Cheung Kwok-kwan[a]
|
DAB | Pro-Beijing | 30 June 1974 | Solicitor | 2016 | ||
ECC | Election Committee | Luk Chung-hung | FTU | Pro-Beijing | 21 September 1978 | Legislative Councillor | 2016 | ||
GC | New Territories North | Lau Kwok-fan | DAB/NTAS | Pro-Beijing | 28 June 1978 | Legislative Councillor | 2016 | ||
FC | Heung Yee Kuk | Kenneth Lau | BPA | Pro-Beijing | 1966 | Merchant | 2016 | ||
GC | Kowloon West | Vincent Cheng | DAB | Pro-Beijing | 18 July 1979 | Legislative Councillor | 2018 (b) | ||
FC | Architectural, Surveying, Planning and Landscape |
Tony Tse | Nonpartisan
|
Pro-Beijing | 27 October 1954 | Surveyor | 2018 (b) | ||
ECC | Election Committee | Doreen Kong | Nonpartisan
|
Pro-Beijing | 12 July 1970 | Solicitor | 2022 | ||
FC | Education | Chu Kwok-keung | FEW | Pro-Beijing | Unknown | School Principal | 2022 | ||
GC | New Territories South East | Stanley Li | DAB/NTAS | Pro-Beijing | 12 August 1983 | Legislative Councillor | 2022 | ||
ECC | Election Committee | Hoey Simon Lee | Nonpartisan
|
Pro-Beijing | 1977 | Chief Strategy Officer | 2022 | ||
FC | Financial Services | Robert Lee | Nonpartisan
|
Pro-Beijing | 1980 | Company Director | 2022 | ||
GC | New Territories North East | Dominic Lee | NPP/CF | Pro-Beijing | 22 January 1984 | Company Director | 2022 | ||
FC | Social Welfare | Tik Chi-yuen | Third Side | Non-aligned | 24 September 1957 | Legislative Councillor | 2022 | ||
ECC | Election Committee | Lee Chun-keung | Liberal | Pro-Beijing | 22 August 1984 | Legislative Councillor Manager |
2022 | ||
GC | Hong Kong Island East | Stanley Ng | FTU | Pro-Beijing | 1970 | Trade Unionist | 2022 | ||
ECC | Election Committee | Johnny Ng | Nonpartisan
|
Pro-Beijing | 1974 | Company Director | 2022 | ||
FC | Labour | Chau Siu-chung | FLU | Pro-Beijing | 1970 | Trade Unionist | 2022 | ||
ECC | Election Committee | Chow Man-kong | Nonpartisan
|
Pro-Beijing | Unknown | Associate Vice President of the Education University of Hong Kong | 2022 | ||
FC | Medical and Health Services | David Lam
|
Nonpartisan
|
Pro-Beijing | 1966 | Surgeon | 2022 | ||
ECC | Election Committee | Lam Chun-sing | FLU | Pro-Beijing | 1981 | Trade Unionist | 2022 | ||
GC | New Territories South East | Lam So-wai
|
Professional Power | Pro-Beijing | 31 December 1987 | Legislative Councillor | 2022 | ||
ECC | Election Committee | Nixie Lam | DAB | Pro-Beijing | 13 March 1982 | Legislative Councillor | 2022 | ||
ECC | Election Committee | Nelson Lam[a] | Nonpartisan
|
Pro-Beijing | 20 August 1968 | Accountant | 2022 | ||
ECC | Election Committee | Dennis Lam | Nonpartisan
|
Pro-Beijing | 13 March 1982 | Doctor | 2022 | ||
FC | Legal | Lam San-keung
|
Nonpartisan
|
Pro-Beijing | 1961 | Solicitor | 2022 | ||
ECC | Election Committee | Andrew Lam | Nonpartisan
|
Pro-Beijing | 1961 | Company Chairman | 2022 | ||
FC | Technology and Innovation | Duncan Chiu | Nonpartisan
|
Pro-Beijing | 1974 | Merchant | 2022 | ||
FC | Tourism | Yiu Pak-leung | Nonpartisan
|
Pro-Beijing | 11 March 1974 | Chairman of the China Travel Service (Hong Kong)
|
2022 | ||
ECC | Election Committee | Wendy Hong | Nonpartisan
|
Pro-Beijing | 1975 | Head of Research | 2022 | ||
ECC | Election Committee | Sun Dong[a]
|
Nonpartisan
|
Pro-Beijing | 1967 | Chair Professor of the City University of Hong Kong | 2022 | ||
FC | Labour | Dennis Leung | FTU | Pro-Beijing | 6 October 1973 | Community Officer | 2022 | ||
GC | Kowloon West | Leung Man-kwong
|
KWND | Pro-Beijing | 3 August 1984 | Legislative Councillor | 2022 | ||
GC | Hong Kong Island East | Edward Leung | DAB | Pro-Beijing | 8 March 1985 | Legislative Councillor | 2022 | ||
ECC | Election Committee | Kenneth Leung
|
Nonpartisan
|
Pro-Beijing | 3 March 1984 | Legislative Councillor | 2022 | ||
ECC | Election Committee | Chan Yuet-ming | Nonpartisan
|
Pro-Beijing | 1972 | Legislative Councillor North District Councillor |
2022 | ||
ECC | Election Committee | Rock Chen | DAB | Pro-Beijing | 6 June 1966 | Investment Manager Company Director |
2022 | ||
ECC | Election Committee | Chan Pui-leung | Nonpartisan
|
Pro-Beijing | 1959 | Legislative Councillor China Taiping Insurance (HK) Company Limited General Manager |
2022 | ||
FC | HKSAR members of NPC and CPPCC, Representatives of National Organisations | Chan Yung | DAB/NTAS | Pro-Beijing | 6 June 1966 | Hong Kong Deputies to the National People's Congress Legislative Councillor Social Worker |
2022 | ||
FC | Textiles and Garment | Sunny Tan | Nonpartisan a
|
Pro-Beijing | 1973 | Legislative Councillor Merchant |
2022 | ||
ECC | Election Committee | Judy Chan | NPP | Pro-Beijing | 4 April 1980 | Legislative Councillor | 2022 | ||
ECC | Election Committee | Maggie Chan
|
Nonpartisan
|
Pro-Beijing | 3 February 1969 | Solicitor | 2022 | ||
ECC | Election Committee | Chan Siu-hung | Nonpartisan
|
Pro-Beijing | 1958 | Engineer | 2022 | ||
ECC | Election Committee | Chan Hoi-yan | Nonpartisan
|
Pro-Beijing | 19 November 1977 | Legislative Councillor Company Director |
2022 | ||
GC | New Territories South West | Joephy Chan | FTU | Pro-Beijing | 16 December 1989 | Trade Unionist | 2022 | ||
GC | Hong Kong Island West | Chan Hok-fung | DAB | Pro-Beijing | 1976 | Banker | 2022 | ||
GC | New Territories North | Gary Zhang | New Prospect | Pro-Beijing | 1989 | Engineer | 2022 | ||
ECC | Election Committee | Lilian Kwok
|
DAB | Pro-Beijing | 20 April 1979 | Teacher | 2022 | ||
ECC | Election Committee | Benson Luk | BPA | Pro-Beijing | 3 December 1983 | Chief Strategy Officer | 2022 | ||
ECC | Election Committee | Wong Yue-shan[b]
|
Nonpartisan
|
Pro-Beijing | 22 December 1975 | Our Hong Kong Foundation Senior Vice President Executive Director of Public Policy Institute |
2022 | ||
FC | Import and Export | Kennedy Wong | DAB | Pro-Beijing | 23 February 1963 | Solicitor | 2022 | ||
FC | Accountancy | Edmund Wong | DAB | Pro-Beijing | 7 January 1985 | Accountant | 2022 | ||
ECC | Election Committee | Kingsley Wong | FTU | Pro-Beijing | 1968 | Trade Unionist | 2022 | ||
GC | Kowloon Central | Yang Wing-kit
|
Nonpartisan
|
Pro-Beijing | 1968 | Legislative Councillor Kowloon City District Councillor |
2022 | ||
ECC | Election Committee | Peter Koon
|
Nonpartisan
|
Pro-Beijing | 2 December 1965 | Clergyman | 2022 | ||
ECC | Election Committee | Tang Fei | FEW | Pro-Beijing | Unknown | Legislative Councillor | 2022 | ||
GC | Kowloon East | Tang Ka-piu | FTU | Pro-Beijing | 29 October 1979 | Legislative Councillor | 2022 | ||
ECC | Election Committee | Lai Tung-kwok | NPP | Pro-Beijing | 12 November 1951 | Legislative Councillor | 2022 | ||
ECC | Election Committee | Lau Chi-pang | Nonpartisan
|
Pro-Beijing | 1960 | Associate Vice President of Lingnan University
|
2022 | ||
FC | Sports, Performing Arts, Culture and Publication | Kenneth Fok | Nonpartisan
|
Pro-Beijing | 2 July 1979 | Merchant | 2022 | ||
FC | Real Estate and Construction | Louis Loong | Nonpartisan
|
Pro-Beijing | 1951 | Business Executive | 2022 | ||
GC | Kowloon East | Ngan Man-yu | DAB | Pro-Beijing | 31 August 1986 | Legislative Councillor Kwun Tong District Councillor |
2022 | ||
ECC | Election Committee | Carmen Kan | Nonpartisan
|
Pro-Beijing | 1968 | Solicitor | 2022 | ||
ECC | Election Committee | Tan Yueheng | Nonpartisan
|
Pro-Beijing | 1962 | Chairman of BOCOM International Holdings | 2022 | ||
ECC | Election Committee | So Cheung-wing | Nonpartisan
|
Pro-Beijing | 1960 | 2022 | |||
FC | Commercial (Third) | Yim Kong
|
Nonpartisan
|
Pro-Beijing | 1972 | Business Executive | 2022 | ||
Supplementary members | |||||||||
ECC | Election Committee | Adrian Ho | NPP | Pro-Beijing | 1977 | Company Director | 2022 (b) | ||
ECC | Election Committee | Shang Hailong | Nonpartisan
|
Pro-Beijing | 1982 | Merchant | 2022 (b) | ||
ECC | Election Committee | Chan Wing-kwong | DAB | Pro-Beijing | 1963 | Chinese Medicine Practitioner Legislative Councillor |
2022 (b) | ||
ECC | Election Committee | William Wong | Nonpartisan
|
Pro-Beijing | 1960 | Professor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong | 2022 (b) |
Geographical constituencies
The Geographical Constituency (GC) seats are returned by universal suffrage. 20 seats of the Legislative Council are returned by GCs through single non-transferable vote with a district magnitude of 2 ("binomial system"). The binomial system was instituted by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in its amendment to Annex 2 of the Basic Law on 30 March 2021.
Geographical constituency | Number of voters[31] | Number of seats | Voting system |
---|---|---|---|
Hong Kong Island East | 424,849 | 2 | Single non-transferable vote |
Hong Kong Island West | 374,795 | ||
Kowloon East | 475,223 | ||
Kowloon West | 381,484 | ||
Kowloon Central | 454,595 | ||
New Territories South East | 472,751 | ||
New Territories North | 431,604 | ||
New Territories North West | 468,752 | ||
New Territories South West | 510,558 | ||
New Territories North East | 478,252 |
Geographical constituencies were first introduced in Hong Kong's first legislative election with direct elections in 1991. The electoral system and boundaries of GCs have since changed:
Election Year | Voting system | Number of constituencies | District magnitude | Total number of GC seats | Proportion of LegCo seats |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1991 | Plurality-at-large
|
9 constituencies | 2 seats | 18 seats | 29.5% |
1995 | First-past-the-post voting | 20 constituencies | 1 seat | 20 seats | 33.3% |
1998 | Proportional representation
( |
5 constituencies | 3-9 seats | 20 seats | 33.3% |
2000 | 24 seats | 40% | |||
2004 | 30 seats | 50% | |||
2008 | |||||
2012 | 35 seats | 50% | |||
2016 | |||||
2021 | Single non-transferable vote | 10 constituencies | 2 seats | 20 seats | 22.2% |
Between 1998 and 2016, the voting system adopted in GCs is a system of
Geographical constituencies | No. of Seats | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1998 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | 2012 | 2016 | ||
Hong Kong Island | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | |
Kowloon East | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | |
Kowloon West | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | |
New Territories East | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 9 | |
New Territories West | 5 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | |
Total | 20 | 24 | 30 | 30 | 35 | 35 |
Functional constituencies
Under the 2021 Hong Kong electoral changes, 28 functional constituencies (FC) return 30 members. The Labour Functional Constituency returns three members by block voting. The other FCs return one member each with first-past-the-post voting.
The 2021 electoral reform saw the dissolution of
Functional constituency | Number of registered electors | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Bodies | Individuals | Total | ||
1 | Heung Yee Kuk | 161 | 161 | |
2 | Agriculture and Fisheries | 176 | 176 | |
3 | Insurance | 126 | 126 | |
4 | Transport | 223 | 223 | |
5 | Education | 85,117 | 85,117 | |
6 | Legal | 7,549 | 7,549 | |
7 | Accountancy | 27,778 | 27,778 | |
8 | Medical And Health Service | 55,523 | 55,523 | |
9 | Engineering | 10,772 | 10,772 | |
10 | Architectural, Surveying and Planning
|
9,123 | 9,123 | |
11 | Labour | 697 | 697 | |
12 | Social Welfare | 13,974 | 13,974 | |
13 | Real Estate and Construction | 463 | 463 | |
14 | Tourism | 192 | 192 | |
15 | Commercial (First) | 1,041 | 1,041 | |
16 | Commercial (Second) | 421 | 421 | |
17 | Commercial (Third) | 288 | 288 | |
18 | Industrial (First) | 421 | 421 | |
19 | Industrial (Second) | 592 | 592 | |
20 | Finance | 114 | 114 | |
21 | Financial Services | 760 | 760 | |
22 | Sports, Performing Arts, Culture and Publication | 257 | 257 | |
23 | Import and Export | 231 | 231 | |
24 | Textiles and Garment | 348 | 348 | |
25 | Wholesale and Retail | 2,015 | 2,015 | |
26 | Technology and Innovation | 73 | 73 | |
27 | Catering | 141 | 141 | |
28 | HKSAR members of NPC and CPPCC, representatives of national organisations | 678 | 678 | |
Total | 8,579 | 210,675 | 219,254 |
The following FCs were abolished in the 2021 electoral reform.
Between 1998 and 2016, the Heung Yee Kuk, Agriculture and Fisheries, Insurance, and Transport FCs where a preferential elimination system is used due to the small number of voters. In the preferential elimination system, a voter must indicate preferences rather than approval/disapproval or a single choice. District Council (Second) uses the same voting rule in Geographical constituencies for the 5 seats.
Before the 2021 elections, neither the Heung Yee Kuk nor the Commercial (Second) FCs have held an actual election, as only one candidate has stood for each FC in every election since their establishment in 1991 and 1985, respectively.
Election Committee Constituency
The Election Committee constituency was one of the three constituencies designed in the
After the
In the 2021 electoral overhaul, the Election Committee constituency was reintroduced, taking 40 of the 90 seats, almost half, of the Legislative Council with plurality-at-large voting system. The electorate is composed of all newly expanded 1,500 members in the Election Committee.
Committee system
In order to perform the important functions of scrutinizing bills, approving public expenditure and monitoring Government's work, a committee system is established.[34]
Standing Committees
- House Committee
- Parliamentary Liaison Subcommittee
- Finance Committee
- Establishment Subcommittee
- Public Works Subcommittee
- Public Accounts Committee[35]
- Committee on Members' Interests
- Committee on Rules of Procedure
Panels
- Panel on Administration of Justice and Legal Services
- Panel on Commerce and Industry
- Panel on Constitutional Affairs
- Panel on Development
- Panel on Economic Development
- Panel on Education
- Panel on Environmental Affairs
- Panel on Financial Affairs
- Panel on Food Safety and Environmental Hygiene
- Panel on Health Services
- Panel on Home Affairs
- Panel on Housing
- Panel on Information Technology and Broadcasting
- Panel on Manpower
- Panel on Public Service
- Panel on Security
- Panel on Transport
- Panel on Welfare Services
President of the Legislative Council
From the establishment of the Legislative Council in 1843 to 1993, the Governor was the President and a member of the council, and until 1917 the Governor was required to act with the advice but not necessary the consent of the Legislative Council. The Letters Patent of 1917 changed such practice by requiring the Governor to act "with advice and consent" of the Legislative Council.
Under the Basic Law (Article 72), the President has the powers and functions to preside over meetings, decide on the agenda, including giving priority to government bills for inclusion in the agenda, decide on the time of meetings, call special sessions during the recess, call emergency sessions on the request of the Chief Executive, and exercise other powers and functions as prescribed in the rules of procedure of the Legislative Council. However, the president of the legislative council may not vote in most situations regarding government bills, and is encouraged to remain impartial towards all matters in the LegCo. The President of the Legislative Council has to meet the eligibility requirements set out in the Basic Law that he or she shall be a Chinese citizen of not less than 40 years of age, who is a permanent resident of the HKSAR with no right of abode in any foreign country and has ordinarily resided in Hong Kong for a continuous period of not less than 20 years.[36]
The President is elected by and from among Council members. The first President (1997–2008) was Rita Fan; the incumbent president, elected in 2016, is Andrew Leung of the pro-Beijing Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong.
Primacy of President
In a controversial move directed at reining in democratic legislators (most of whom were elected by universal suffrage and six of whose seats had been vacated by a controversial court order of disqualification), amendments to the Rules of Procedure were passed on 15 December 2017 giving sweeping powers to the President to control the business of the legislature. Among them is the power to vet proposed motions and amendments to bills, require legislators to explain them and to reject or merge them. Prior notice must be given of any notice of motion and the President may reconvene the chamber immediately after any failure to meet quorum.[37]
Procedure
The quorum for meetings of the council is half of all LegCo Members; while the quorum for meetings of a committee of the whole during second reading of bills is 20, i.e. only 22 per cent of membership, having been reduced from 35 on 15 December 2017.[38]
After the 15 December 2017 amendments to procedure, a petition is to be submitted to the House Committee only with at least 35 signatures of members, effectively blocking democrat-sponsored scrutiny of government action.[37]
Passage of Bills
Passage of bills introduced by the government require only a simple majority of votes of the members of the Legislative Council present; whereas passage of motions, bills or amendments to government bills introduced by individual LegCo members shall require a simple majority of votes of each of the two groups of members present: namely members returned by the Election Committee and members returned by functional constituencies and geographical constituencies.[39]
Motions on amendments to the Basic Law require a
Traditionally, the President does not vote. However, this convention is not a constitutional requirement.[40]
Elections of the Legislative Council
Legislative Council general elections are held every four years in accordance with
Seating arrangement
In a typical Council meeting in the old Legislative chamber, members were seated to the left and front of the President's chair in the Chamber patterned after the adversarial layout of Westminster system legislatures. The three rows to the right were reserved for government officials and other people attending the meetings.[41]
At the new LegCo site at Tamar, members sit facing the President (and council officers) in a hemicycle seating arrangement.
At present, the Secretariat, headed by the Secretary General, provides administrative support and services to the Council through its ten divisions. In addition to being the chief executive of the Secretariat, the Secretary General is also the Clerk to the Legislative Council responsible for advising the President on all matters relating to the procedure of the council.[42]
List of Legislative Council compositions
The following lists the composition of Legislative Council seats since its establishment:[43]
Officials[c] | Appointed | Indirectly elected | Directly elected |
Total | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
by Electoral College (inc. Election Committee) |
by functional constituencies | |||||
1843 | 4 | – | – | – | – | 4 |
1844 | 6 | – | – | – | – | 6 |
1845 | 4 | – | – | – | – | 4 |
1850 | 6 | 2 | – | – | – | 8 |
1857 | 6 | 3 | – | – | – | 9 |
1858 | 7 | 3 | – | – | – | 10 |
1868 | 6 | 4 | – | – | – | 10 |
1883 | 7 | 5 | – | – | – | 12 |
1896 | 8 | 6 | – | – | – | 14 |
1917 | 8 | 6 | – | – | – | 14 |
1928 | 10 | 8 | – | – | – | 18 |
1964 | 13 | 13 | – | – | – | 26 |
1972 | 15 | 15 | – | – | – | 30 |
1976 | 23 | 23 | – | – | – | 46 |
1977 | 25 | 25 | – | – | – | 50 |
1980 | 27 | 27 | – | – | – | 54 |
1983 | 29 | 29 | – | – | – | 58 |
1984 | 29 | 32 | – | – | – | 61 |
1985–88 | 11 | 22 | 12 | 12 | – | 57 |
1988–91 | 11 | 20 | 12 | 14 | – | 57 |
1991–95 | 4 | 18 | – | 21 | 18 | 61 |
1995–97 | – | – | 10 | 30 | 20 | 60 |
1997–98 | – | – | 60 | – | – | 60 |
1998–2000 | – | – | 10 | 30 | 20 | 60 |
2000–04 | – | – | 6 | 30 | 24 | 60 |
2004–08 | – | – | – | 30 | 30 | 60 |
2008–12 | – | – | – | 30 | 30 | 60 |
2012–16 | – | – | – | 35 | 35 | 70 |
2016–21 | – | – | – | 35 | 35 | 70 |
2021–25 | – | – | 40 | 30 | 20 | 90 |
The following chart lists the composition of the Legislative Councils of Hong Kong since the Special Administrative Region (SAR) period from 1998, the composition and diagram indicate the seats controlled by the camps (green for the
Term (Election) | Diagram | Composition (by alignment) |
President | DAB | FTU | BPA | NPP | Lib | DP | Civ |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st (1998) | 20:40
|
Independent )
|
9 | – | – | – | 10 | 13 | – | |
2nd (2000) | 21:39
|
Independent )
|
11 | – | – | – | 8 | 12 | – | |
3rd (2004) | 25:35
|
Independent )
|
12 | 1 | – | – | 10 | 9 | – | |
4th (2008) | 23:37
|
Jasper Tsang (DAB) |
13 | 1 | – | – | 7 | 8 | 5 | |
5th (2012) | 27:1:42
|
Jasper Tsang (DAB) |
13 | 6 | – | 2 | 5 | 6 | 6 | |
6th (2016) | 29:1:40
|
Andrew Leung (BPA) |
12 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 6 | |
7th (2021) | 1:89
|
Andrew Leung (BPA) |
19 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 4 | – | – |
Officers of the Legislative Council
Services to members were originally provided by the Office of the Clerk to the Legislative Council which was part of the Government Secretariat. Additional support later came from other administrative units, i.e. the Unofficial Members of the Executive and Legislative Councils (UMELCO) Secretariat and its variants, in consideration of the gradually rising volume of work in Council business.
With the establishment of UMELCO in 1963, public officers were seconded to UMELCO to assist members to deal with public complaints and build up public relations with the local community. During their secondments, public officers took instructions only from Council members. The practice remained when the
In 1991, the OMELCO Secretariat was incorporated. As a result of the complete separation of membership of the Executive and Legislative Councils, OMELCO was renamed the Office of Members of Legislative Council (OMLEGCO).
The Legislative Council Commission, a statutory body independent of the Government, was established under The Legislative Council Commission Ordinance on 1 April 1994. The Commission integrated the administrative support and services to the council by the Office of the Clerk to the Legislative Council and the OMLEGCO Secretariat into an independent Legislative Council Secretariat. The Commission replaced all civil servants by contract staff in the 1994–1995 session.[45]
See also
- Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel
- Executive Council of Hong Kong
- List of Members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong
- Politics of Hong Kong
- Senior Chinese Unofficial Member
- Senior Unofficial Member
Notes
References
- ^ "2021 Legislative Council General Election - Election Brief". Elections.gov.hk.
- ^ "Hong Kong downgraded from 'flawed democracy' to 'hybrid regime' as city drops 12 places in Economist's democracy index". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. 3 February 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
- ^ "Hong Kong electoral reform: LegCo passes 'patriots' law". BBC News. 27 May 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
- ^ "LegCo Today". Legislative Council Commission.
- ^ a b c d "History of the Legislature". Legislative Council. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
- ^ a b "Hong Kong electoral reform: LegCo passes 'patriots' law". BBC News. 27 May 2021.
... the Legislative Council (LegCo), which has been dominated by pro-Beijing lawmakers since a mass opposition walkout last year.... While overall seats will increase from 70 to 90, the number of directly elected representatives will fall from 35 to 20.
- ^ "A Companion to the history, rules and practices of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region - Part I: An introduction to the Legislative Council, its history, organisation and procedure - Chapter 3". Legislative Council Commission.
- ^ "HISTORY OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL". Legislative Council of Hong Kong.
- ^ "Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region - The Establishment of the Provisional Legislative Council". The Legislative Council Commission.
- ^ Cheung, Gary; Wong, Albert & Fung, Fanny (25 June 2010) "Cheers and jeers for political reform vote", South China Morning Post
- ^ "Hong Kong legislators reject China-backed reform bill". CNN. 19 June 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
- ^ a b c d "Basic Law" (PDF). Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau. May 2021. pp. 106–107, 217–224.
- ^ "BREAKING: Beijing's legislature passes unanimous ruling to interpret Hong Kong's mini-constitution over oath saga". Hong Kong Free Press. 7 November 2016.
- ^ "Hong Kong lawmaker disqualification ruling 'opens huge floodgate', lawyers say". South China Morning Post. 15 July 2017.
- ^ "Hong Kong's leader rejects foreign criticism over barring of democracy activist Agnes Chow from legislative by-election". South China Morning Post. 30 January 2018.
- ^ "Ousted pro-democracy Hong Kong lawmaker Lau Siu-lai barred from Kowloon West Legislative Council by-election". South China Morning Post. 12 October 2018.
- ^ "Hong Kong protesters smash up legislature in direct challenge to China". Reuters. Archived from the original on 1 July 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
- ^ "Beijing decides current Hong Kong lawmakers can remain on until postponed election". Hong Kong Free Press. 11 August 2020.
- ^ "Hong Kong's pro-democracy legislators to resign en masse". Aljazeera. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
- ^ "Xi Focus: Xi stresses "patriots governing Hong Kong" when hearing Carrie Lam's work report". Xinhua. 27 January 2021. Archived from the original on 22 November 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
- ^ "China approves Hong Kong election overhaul bill". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
- ^ a b "December date for Hong Kong Legco polls, key role for new chief convenor". South China Morning Post. 30 March 2021. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
... the Election Committee, which was expected to be filled by Beijing-loyalists.... The new members will include patriotic groups and members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) to further reinforce the pro-establishment camp's control of the body.
- ^ "China formalises sweeping electoral shake-up for Hong Kong, demands loyalty". Reuters. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
- ^ Chau, Candice (18 January 2023). "Hong Kong press group slams omission of lawmakers' names from legislature meeting minutes". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
- ^ Mok, Lea (14 April 2023). "Half of Hongkongers unable to name any serving lawmaker, poll finds". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
- ^ Chau, Candice (10 May 2023). "Hong Kong lawmakers unanimously vote to let city leader restrict overseas lawyers from national security cases". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
- ^ "Hong Kong lawmakers have 'ears wide open' to feedback, John Lee insists". South China Morning Post. 5 September 2023. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
- ^ "Heritage Impact Assessment" (PDF). LWK Conservation Ltd. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 October 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
- ^ "The Legislative Council Building" (PDF). Legislative Council Secretariat.
- ^ "Taking of Legislative Council Oath" (pdf). Legislative Council of Hong Kong. 30 September 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
- ^ "No. of electors in the 2021 final registers". Registration and Electoral Office. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
- ^ Distribution of registered electors by functional constituencies in 2021,
- ^ Report on the 1995 Legislative General Election, Boundary and Election Commission
- ^ "LegCo Today". Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Administrative Region. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
- ^ Public Accounts Committee (Hong Kong) https://www.legco.gov.hk/general/english/pac/pac_1620.htm
- ^ "President of the Legislative Council". The Legislative Council Commission.
- ^ a b Cheng, Kris (15 December 2017). "Hong Kong legislature passes controversial house rule changes taking powers from lawmakers". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
- ^ "R.17, Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council of the HKSAR". Legislative Council of the Hong Kong. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
- ^ Legislative Council Secretariat Education Service Team (January 2022). "HOW LAWS ARE MADE" (PDF). Legislative Council in Brief No. 7.
- ^ Michael DeGolyer (24 July 2008). "Legco dice loaded from the start" Archived 7 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine. The Standard.
- ^ "Knowledge of the Legislative Council". Legislative Council Commission.
- ^ "Legislative Council Secretariat". The Legislative Council Commission.
- ^ "Composition of the Legislative Council" (PDF). Legislative Council of Hong Kong. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
- ^ "Possible duplication of work of the LegCo Redress System with the work of The Office of The Ombudsman" (PDF). Legislative Council of Hong Kong.
- ^ "The Legislative Council Commission". Legislative Council of Hong Kong.
Further reading
- "Hong Kong's Legislative Council (Legco)" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. 23 November 2020.