Liberal Party (Hong Kong)
Liberal Party 自由黨 | ||
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Liberal Party | |
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Hanyu Pinyin | Zìyóu dǎng |
Yue: Cantonese | |
Yale Romanization | Jih yàuh dóng |
Jyutping | Zi6 jau4 dong2 |
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Politics and government of Hong Kong |
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The Liberal Party (LP) is a
Founded in 1993 on the basis of the Co-operative Resources Centre, the Liberal Party was founded by a group of conservative politicians, businessmen and professionals who were either appointed by the colonial governor or indirectly elected through the trade-based functional constituencies, to counter the liberal United Democrats of Hong Kong who emerged from the first Legislative Council direct election in 1991.
Led by
The Liberal popularity rose to its peak in 2003 when party chairman
The party lost both of its directly elected seats in the
The Liberals lost their only directly elected seat when Tien retired in
Party beliefs
Formed by businessmen and tycoons from various business sectors in Hong Kong, the Liberal Party is considered
The party does not advocate welfare entitlements. Many of its members are from professionals, the merchant and business sectors and see preserving the current state of economic freedom as most advantageous for Hong Kong as a whole. The party adheres to social conservatism and opposes same-sex marriage.[7] The party supported the functional constituency which represented the business interest that they should stay in the Legislative Council.
Despite being regarded as part of the pro-Beijing camp, the relations between Liberal Party and Hong Kong SAR government is not extremely friendly and the party has not shied away from criticising SAR administrations on some measures.[8] Its chairman James Tien's resignation from the Executive Council in 2003 forced the government to back down from legislation of Article 23 of the Basic Law, which ultimately accelerated the downfall of the Tung Chee-hwa administration. It has remained critical of the government of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying who won in the 2012 chief executive election, which the Liberal Party supported Leung's rival Henry Tang and cast blank votes instead of voting for Leung. On some issues, the Liberal Party has either adopted a neutral stance or has swung between supporting the pro-Beijing camp and voters, prompting dissatisfied responses from both sides although the party has generally positioned itself as supportive of the SAR government. After Carrie Lam was elected as Chief Executive, the party was accused of growing closer to the government and further from the founding members of the party and the leadership of James Tien. During the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests the party was divided on whether to support the 2019 Hong Kong extradition bill, with former party leader Felix Chung arguing the SAR government should not rush into passing such a legislation while Tommy Cheung supported it. Others such as Tien argued for Lam to resign as Chief Executive.[9] Due to its history of rebelling against the government, it is also seen as maverick in the pro-Beijing camp.[10]
History
Background
The Liberal Party was founded on the basis of a loose political grouping
Founding and Allen Lee chairmanship (1993–1998)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/79/Liberal_Party_logo_1993.png)
The Liberal Party was officially launched on 6 June 1993 with Allen Lee and
The Liberal Party fielded candidates for the first time in the
In January 1996, Allen Lee,
In May 1998, the Liberal Party participated in the
James Tien chairmanship and 2003 crisis (1998–2003)
In the 1999 District Council elections, the Liberal Party won 16 elected seats, with James Tien and Howard Young elected in the Peak and Bays Area. The party also had 9 appointed seats and 2 ex officio seats, including chairman of the Tuen Mun Rural Committee Lau Wong-fat as the ex officio member of the Tuen Mun District Council.[16] In the 2000 Legislative Council elections, 7 Liberal Party legislators were elected, with Tommy Cheung winning in the new Catering functional constituency. In September 2000, Miriam Lau became party's vice-chairwoman after Ronald Arcullli announced that he would not run in the next legislative council elections and resigned as vice-chairman.
The Liberal Party had been the ally of the
In September 2002, the SAR government issued the consultation document for the
Liberal surge (2003–2008)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/00/Liberal_Party_%28Hong_Kong%29_logo.png)
In Liberal Party's visit to Beijing in September 2003, the party expressed its opinion on Article 23 and its support to the SAR government. It subsequently changed its party logo and slogan, adding the red colour to express its patriotic sentiment.
The Liberal Party saw its greatest success in the
When Donald Tsang took over in November 2005, the party continued its generally pro-government stance and its warm relationship with Tsang administration. However the support for the chief executive could not be taken for granted.[20] On 13 January 2006, the Liberal Party opposed Donald Tsang's plan to implement a five-day working week for most civil servants, due to concerns that this would put too much pressure on small to medium-sized enterprises to follow suit. The change went ahead and was widely adopted in the private sector. There is no planned legislation to force private employers to commit to a five-day working week. The Liberal Party supported Donald Tsang in his 2007 chief executive re-election. In exchange, Tsang quickly appointed James Tien as the head of the Hong Kong Tourism Board after he was elected.[21]
2008 split (2008–2012)
The fate of the party hung in the balance after its poor showing in the
On 9 October 2008, three Legislative Councillors, Jeffrey Lam, Sophie Leung, and Andrew Leung, resigned from the party, citing internal party disagreements. Lam had been angling for the party leadership since Tien's resignation and his candidacy was endorsed by all six Legislative Councillors until Miriam Lau stepped in the leadership election. These resignations, along with the resignation of Lau Wong-fat, reduced the Liberal Party from seven Legislative Councillors to three.[24] The resigned four later formed Economic Synergy, which merged into the Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong today.
The debate over the
In the
Liberals under Leung government (2012–2017)
The party rebounded its seats in the legislative council from 3 to 5 in the 2012 Hong Kong Legislative Council election with James Tien regained his direct elected seat in the New Territories East geographical constituency. However, Miriam Lau, who lost in her attempt in Hong Kong Island direct election, resigned as chairwoman. Following a three-month period with Vincent Fang as acting chairman, on 15 December 2012, Selina Chow was elected chairperson, unopposed.[33][34] James Tien and Miriam Lau continued to serve as Honorary Chairpersons, while Fang and Felix Chung became vice-chairmen. It was also stated that a new party leader post would be created, along with three vice-chairmen to groom successors. A new post "party leader" was created in May 2013. James Tien was elected as the first party leader.
During the 2014 Hong Kong protests, James Tien called on Chief Executive CY Leung to resign, leading to the hearing of a call to eject him as a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).[35] Tien was formally stripped of his post at the meeting on 29 October, making him the first person in history to have received this sanction. Tien stepped down from his position as the leader of the Liberal Party after the removal.[36] Tien and Selina Chow joined Miriam Lau to become the honorary chairmen in the following leadership election on 1 December while Vincent Fang and Felix Chung became the new Leader and chairman respectively and Eastern District Councillor Peter Shiu became the party's vice-chairman. Although not holding any executive position in the party, Tien has remained the spokesman and de facto leader of the Liberal Party.
In the 2016 Legislative Council election, party honorary chairman James Tien stood as a second candidate behind his young party member Dominic Lee. Both of them failed to retain the Liberals' only seat in the geographical constituencies. Although failing in ousting BPA's Jeffrey Lam in Commercial (First), the Liberals retained other four trade-based functional constituencies with vice-chairman Peter Shiu succeeded the retiring party leader Vincent Fang's Wholesale and Retail seat. The party's New Territories West candidate Ken Chow Wing-kan announced he would withdraw from the race before the election due to an "external force" threatened him and his family.[37]
The Liberal Party elected Felix Chung and Tommy Cheung as the new leader and chairman after the election in October, with CPPCC member Alan Hoo and Eastern District Councillor Lee Chun-keung elected as vice-chairmen along with Peter Shiu. The new leadership was seen as more moderate with less vocal anti-Leung Chun-ying stance.[38] Cheung was subsequently appointed by Leung to the executive council. Although claiming he has gotten the endorsement from the party, Cheung's move was criticised by Tien.[39]
Liberals in Lam government (2017–2022)
In the
The Carrie Lam administration reached out to the Liberals when she appointed two Liberal members,
The Liberal leadership was deeply divided over the
In 2020, members of the moderate Tien faction also announced the foundation of the Hope for Hong Kong organisation after accusing the Liberal Party's leadership of growing too close to Beijing which aimed to explore a middle ground between the pro-Beijing and pro-democracy camps.[46]
Expulsion of Tien faction (2022–present)
In the
Cheung stayed as a member of the Executive Council.On 10 August 2022, three honorary chairpersons, James Tien, Miriam Lau, and Selina Chow, who supported non-establishment candidate in the last year's election, decided to resign and quit the party to protest after the Central Committee discussed removing the titles without consulting them.[50] Tien said the leadership did not follow the party's traditions, while Chow expressed disappointment as the decision was not sound. Angered by the "disrespect" from the leadership, Chow attacked Shiu, the chairman, for "dictating" party reform. The Central Committee agreed the abolition unanimously later that day, and thank their contributions in a statement.[51] The shake-up of the party leadership marked the end of the Tien era, whose moderate faction started to lose power after Carrie Lam became leader and the defeat of Chung.[52]
Election performance
Legislative Council elections
Election | Number of popular votes |
% of popular votes |
GC seats |
FC seats |
EC seats |
Total seats | +/− | Position |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1995 | 15,216![]() |
1.67![]() |
1 | 9 | 0 | 10 / 60
|
5![]() |
2nd![]() |
1998 | 50,335![]() |
3.40![]() |
0 | 9 | 1 | 10 / 60
|
![]() |
3rd![]() |
2000 | 24,858![]() |
1.88![]() |
0 | 8 | 0 | 8 / 60
|
2![]() |
3rd![]() |
2004 | 118,997![]() |
6.67![]() |
2 | 8 | 10 / 60
|
2![]() |
2nd![]() | |
2008 | 65,622![]() |
4.33![]() |
0 | 7 | 7 / 60
|
3![]() |
3rd![]() | |
2012 | 48,702![]() |
2.64![]() |
1 | 4 | 5 / 70
|
2![]() |
5th![]() | |
2016 | 21,500![]() |
0.99![]() |
0 | 4 | 4 / 70
|
1![]() |
6th![]() | |
2021 | – | – | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 / 90
|
![]() |
5th![]() |
Municipal elections
Election | Number of popular votes |
% of popular votes |
UrbCo seats |
RegCo seats |
Total elected seats |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1995 | 7,188![]() |
1.29![]() |
1 / 32
|
0 / 27
|
1 / 59
|
District Council elections
Election | Number of popular votes |
% of popular votes |
D.E.
seats |
E.C.
seats |
App.
seats |
Ex off.
seats |
Total elected seats |
+/− |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1994 | 50,755![]() |
7.39![]() |
18 | 1 | 18 / 346
|
6![]() | ||
1999 | 27,718![]() |
3.42![]() |
15 | 9 | 2 | 15 / 390
|
3![]() | |
2003 | 29,108![]() |
2.77![]() |
12 | 8 | 2 | 14 / 400
|
1![]() | |
2007 | 50,026![]() |
4.39![]() |
14 | 13 | 2 | 14 / 405
|
3![]() | |
2011 | 23,408![]() |
1.98![]() |
9 | 4 | 0 | 9 / 412
|
3![]() | |
2015 | 25,157![]() |
1.74![]() |
9 | 1 | 9 / 431
|
1![]() | ||
2019 | 27,684![]() |
0.94![]() |
5 | 0 | 5 / 452
|
3![]() | ||
2023 | 19,574![]() |
1.67![]() |
3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 8 / 470
|
3![]() |
Leadership
Leaders
No. | Leader (Birth–Death) |
Portrait | Constituency | Took office | Left office | Duration |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | James Tien (born 1947) |
![]() |
New Territories East |
21 May 2013 | 29 October 2014 | 1 year and 162 days |
2 | Vincent Fang (born 1943) |
![]() |
Wholesale and Retail | 1 December 2014 | 7 October 2016 | 1 year and 312 days |
3 | Felix Chung (born 1963) |
![]() |
Textiles and Garment (until 2021) |
7 October 2016 | 10 May 2022 | 5 years and 216 days |
4 | Tommy Cheung (born 1949) |
![]() |
Catering | 10 May 2022 | Incumbent | 2 years and 54 days |
Chairpersons
No. | Leader (Birth–Death) |
Portrait | Constituency | Took office | Left office | Duration |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Allen Lee (born 1940) |
![]() |
Appointed (1993–95) New Territories North-east (1995–97) |
26 June 1993 | 5 December 1998 | 5 years and 163 days |
2 | James Tien (born 1947) |
![]() |
New Territories East (2004–08) |
5 December 1998 | 8 September 2008[n 1] | 9 years and 279 days |
3 | Miriam Lau (born 1947) |
![]() |
Transport | 8 September 2008[n 1] | 9 September 2012 | 4 years and 2 days |
– | Vincent Fang (born 1943) Acting |
![]() |
Wholesale and Retail | 9 September 2012 | 15 December 2012 | 98 days |
4 | Selina Chow (born 1945) |
![]() |
None | 15 December 2012 | 1 December 2014 | 1 year and 352 days |
5 | Felix Chung (born 1963) |
![]() |
Textiles and Garment | 1 December 2014 | 7 October 2016 | 1 year and 312 days |
6 | Tommy Cheung (born 1949) |
![]() |
Catering | 7 October 2016 | 10 May 2022 | 5 years and 216 days |
7 | Peter Shiu (born 1970) |
![]() |
Wholesale and Retail | 10 May 2022 | Incumbent | 2 years and 54 days |
- ^ a b Resigned, Miriam Lau served as acting chair between 8 September and 24 October 2008.
Honorary chairpersons
- James Tien, 2010–2012, 2014–2022 (resigned)
- Miriam Lau, 2012–2022 (resigned)
- Selina Chow, 2014–2022 (resigned)
- Vincent Fang, 2016–2022
The title of honorary chairperson was abolished on 10 August 2022.
Vice-chairpersons
- Ronald Arculli, 1993–2000
- Steven Poon, 1996–1998
- Selina Chow, 1998–2008, 2011–2012
- Miriam Lau, 2000–2008
- Tommy Cheung, 2008–2010
- Vincent Fang, 2008–2014
- Felix Chung, 2012–2014
- Peter Shiu, 2014–2022
- Alan Hoo, 2016–present
- Lee Chun-keung, 2016–present
- Nicholas Chan, 2022–present
Representatives
Executive Council
Legislative Council
Constituency | Member |
---|---|
Transport | Frankie Yick |
Wholesale and Retail | Shiu Ka-fai
|
Catering | Tommy Cheung |
Election Committee | Lee Chun-keung |
District Councils
The Liberal Party has won eight seats in five district councils (2024–2027):
District | Constituency | Member |
---|---|---|
Central & Western | Central | Karl Fung Kar-leung |
Appointed | Jeremy Young Chit-on | |
Wan Chai | District Committees | Wind Lam Wai-man |
Appointed | Chow Kam-wai | |
Eastern | Tai Pak | Kenny Yuen Kin-chung |
District Committees | Tsang Cheuk-yi | |
Southern | Southern District Southeast | Jonathan Leung Chun |
Sai Kung | Appointed | Lam Chun-ka |
See also
- United Front Work Department
- United Front (China)
- Co-operative Resources Centre
- Conservatism in Hong Kong
- Economic Synergy
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External links
- Liberal Party official site (Click 'English' in the top right-hand corner for the English version)