Meeting Point

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with Meeting point.
Meeting Point
匯點
Colours  Green
Meeting Point
Traditional Chinese匯點

Meeting Point (Chinese: 匯點) was a liberal political organisation and party in Hong Kong formed by a group of former student activists in the 1970s and intellectuals for the discussion for the Sino-British negotiation on the question of Hong Kong prospect in 1983. It was one of the earliest groups in Hong Kong that favoured Chinese sovereignty over Hong Kong but wanted a free, democratic and autonomous Hong Kong.[1]

It emerged as one of the leading

pro-democracy groups in the 1980s and was one of the two predecessors of today's Democratic Party
, into which it was merged in 1994.

History

Sino-British agreement

It was founded on 9 January 1983 by a group of former student activists active in the 1970s and intellectuals, many of which were graduates of the University of Hong Kong. With Lau Nai-keung the founding Chairman and Yeung Sum the Vice-Chairman, the group stressed the autonomous government of "Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong" under the Chinese sovereignty in the midst of the Sino-British negotiations over Hong Kong sovereignty after 1997, which was a minor opinion at the time the mainstream opinion overwhelmingly supported British rule. Its support for peaceful reunification with China attracted Beijing's support.[2]

In the post-agreement period, the group started participating in the municipal and local elections. It formed a strategic alliance with the two major pro-democratic groups, the

Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference
by Beijing.

1991 LegCo elections and 1994 reform proposals

The

Edward Leong Che-hung of the Medical constituency joined the Meeting Point with some members of Leong's Hong Kong Democratic Foundation
.

In 1994, the Meeting Point supported the

Emily Lau Wai-hing as it thought any infringement of the Basic Law would further enrage Beijing result in instability and the dismantling of the installed political structure.[5]

Merge into Democratic Party

Due to lack of effectiveness of the moderate approach and to further unite the pro-democracy camp for the

Hong Kong Affairs Adviser
by Beijing was cancelled after the two party merged. The party's general meeting passed the motion of establishing the Democratic Party on 15 May 1994. It was officially dissolved in October 1994.

The Meeting Point members became a main faction in the Democratic Party with a more pro-middle class, pro-market and moderate agenda. It also stressed dialogue with Beijing and Hong Kong governments over struggle, and parliamentary politics over street action.

Secretary for Transport and Housing
in 2012.

List of chairmen

  1. Lau Nai-keung, 1983–1988
  2. Yeung Sum, 1988–1989
  3. Anthony Cheung, 1989–1994

Notable members

Electoral performance

Legislative Council elections

Election Number of
popular votes 		% of
popular votes 		GC
seats 		FC
seats 		EC
seats 		Total seats +/−
1991 98,588Steady 7.20Steady 2 0 -
2 / 60
 2Increase

Note: Each voter got two votes in the 1991 Election.

Municipal elections

Election Number of
popular votes 		% of
popular votes
UrbCo

seats
RegCo

seats 		Total
elected seats
1986 35,411Steady 10.06Steady
1 / 15
1 / 12
2 / 27
1989 21,702Decrease 10.21Increase
0 / 15
2 / 12
2 / 27
1991 12,476Decrease 3.18Decrease
1 / 15
0 / 12
1 / 27

District Board elections

Election Number of
popular votes 		% of
popular votes 		Total
elected seats 		+/−
1985 9,714Steady 1.41Steady
4 / 237
 4Increase
1988 41,878Increase 6.57Increase
16 / 264
 12Increase
1991 18,386Decrease 3.46Decrease
11 / 272
 2Increase

References

  1. ^ Scott, Ian. Political Change and the Crisis of Legitimacy in Hong Kong. University of Hawaii Press. p. 210.
  2. S2CID 154559202
    .
  3. ^ Read Their Lips (I): A dossier of political leaders in Hong Kong. Pace Publishing Ltd.
  4. ^ Wong, Denise (15 October 1992). "A little dragon that blows plenty of fire". Hong Kong Standard.
  5. ^ Sing, Ming (2004). Hong Kong's Tortuous Democratization: A Comparative Analysis. Routledge. p. 145.
  6. ^ Kuan, Hsin-chi; Liu, Zhaojia; Wang, Jiaying, eds. (2002). Out of the Shadow of 1997?: The 2000 Legislative Council Election in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Chinese University Press. pp. 136–7.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Meeting_Point&oldid=1138907668"