1991 Hong Kong legislative election

Hong Kong legislative election, 1991

12 & 15 September 1991
39 (of 60) seats to the Legislative Council
Turnout	39.15% (GC)
First party Second party Third party   LDF Leader Martin Lee Hu Fa-kuang Anthony Cheung Party United Democrats LDF Meeting Point Alliance Pro-democracy Conservative Pro-democracy Leader's seat Island East N/A Did not run Last election New party New party 0 seat Seats won 14 (12 GCs + 2 FCs) 3 (3 FCs) 2 (2 GCs) Popular vote 618,209 70,697 98,588 Percentage 45.15% 5.16% 7.20%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   FTU Leader Leong Che-hung Frederick Fung Lee Chark-tim Party HKDF ADPL FTU Alliance Pro-democracy Pro-democracy Pro-Beijing Leader's seat Medical Kowloon West Did not run Last election New party N/A N/A Seats won 2 (0 GC + 2 FCs) 1 (1 GC) 1 (1 FC) Popular vote 19,806 60,770 44,894 Percentage 1.45% 4.44% 3.28%
Elected candidates by each geographical constituency ■ – United Democrats ■ – Meeting Point ■ – ADPL ■ – Independent

The 1991 Hong Kong legislative election for members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo). The election of the members of functional constituencies was held on 12 September 1991 and the election of geographical constituency seats was held on 15 September. It was the first ever direct election of the Legislative Council in Hong Kong history. There were 18 members from directly elected Geographical Constituencies, 21 members from Functional Constituencies, 17 members appointed by the Governor, and 3 official members.

A coalition of the United Democrats and the Meeting Point, together with other smaller parties, groups and independents in the pro-democracy camp had a landslide victory, getting 16 of the 18 geographical constituency seats.

Two-seat constituency two vote system was used with two seats to be filled in each constituency. The voting system helped the pro-democracy coalition win with landslide success and faced criticisms. In the end, the government prescribed simple plurality in the next election.

Background

See also: Sino-British Joint Declaration and 1988 Hong Kong electoral reform

After the Sino-British Joint Declaration signed in December 1984 stated the sovereignty of Hong Kong would be transferred from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China, the pace of the democratisation towards a government of high autonomy towards 1997 became a major political debate. The Hong Kong government denied to the demand of the pro-democracy group of introducing direct elections in the 1988 Legislative Council elections, due to the main opposition from Beijing and the conservative business and professional elites. The Functional Constituencies elected by different business and professional sectors and also Electoral Colleges elected by the District Boards and the two municipal councils (Urban Council and Regional Council) remained in the 1988 elections but it was promised that direct elections would be introduced in the 1991 elections.

Overview

The Hong Kong government's assumed the two-seat constituencies would produce a mixture of liberal, rural conservative and business representatives as well as some members of the "united front" organisations which supported by Beijing, as the voters would cast their ballots for prominent individuals rather than a "party" label. However, the two-seat and two-vote system benefited the pro-democracy coalition in the end.

The election was largely affected by the events in the May and June 1989 in China when the Tiananmen Square protest was bloodily cracked down by the Beijing government. The events sparked the great fear among the Hong Kong population who closely concerned or enthusiastically supported the student movement. The pro-democracy groups supported the student protests by forming the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China in May 1989. After the crackdown, the liberal leaders, Martin Lee and Szeto Wah had been labelled as "subversives" by the Beijing government and expelled form the Hong Kong Basic Law Drafting Committee. In 1990, members of the three major pro-democracy groups, the Meeting Point, the Hong Kong Affairs Society and the Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood came together under the banner of the United Democrats of Hong Kong, which self-proclaimed as a political party.

The pro-democracy liberals won a landslide in the geographical constituency direct elections. The United Democrats led by Martin Lee became the largest party, by winning 12 of the 18 seats in the geographical constituencies. Two other seats went to its ally Meeting Point headed by Anthony Cheung. Frederick Fung, Chairman of the ADPL won a seat in Kowloon West. Of the remaining seats, one went to a liberal independent Emily Lau, one to an independent incumbent Andrew Wong and the other to an incumbent rural conservative Tai Chin-wah.

The conservative Liberal Democratic Federation of Hong Kong, newly founded in 1990 mainly by business and professional groups favouring collaboration with Beijing, polled only 5.1% of the vote. None of its candidates were elected in the direct elections. The pro-Beijing "united front" organisations received only 7.9% of the vote and were also very easily defeated. Chan Yuen-han, the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (FTU) candidate in Kowloon Central polled about 11,000 votes than the second place United Democrat, Dr. Conrad Lam and was about 23,000 votes behind the winner, United Democrat Lau Chin-shek. In Island East, Cheng Kai-nam who had the support of a pro-Beijing group, Hong Kong Citizen Forum, polled 29,902 against the United Democrats' leader Martin Lee, who received 76,831 votes.

The advantage of the liberals was balanced with the functional constituency indirectly elected by the limited electorates of the business and professional sectors as well as the appointed members by the government. the Chief Secretary Sir David Ford said on television that the elections should be seen in the context of a 50% registration rate, of whom perhaps only 50% might turn out at the polls therefore the majority who were not represented would be reserved by appointing members who might be thought to represent those who had not registered or had not voted.

General results

Votes summary

Popular vote United Democrats   45.15% Meeting Point   7.20% LDF   5.16% ADPL   4.44% FTU   3.28% Civic   2.60% PHKS   2.20% CF   2.18% KCMCFPA   1.55% DF   1.45% NHKA   0.87% Reform   0.60% TUC   0.25% Independent   19.11%

Seats summary

Seats United Democrats   35.90% LDF   7.69% Meeting Point   5.13% DF   5.13% BPF   5.13% ADPL   2.64% FTU   2.64% NHKA   2.64% TUC   2.64% Independent   30.78%

Result breakdown

Geographical Constituencies

Constituency	Candidates	Affiliation		No. of votes given (%)
Hong Kong Island East	Martin Lee Chu-ming style="width: 2px; background-color: #136C56;" data-sort-value="United Democrats of Hong Kong" |	United Democrats	76,831 (74.6%)
	Man Sai-cheong style="width: 2px; background-color: #136C56;" data-sort-value="United Democrats of Hong Kong" |	United Democrats	43,615 (42.3%)
	Cheng Kai-nam		Citizen Forum	29,902 (29.0%)
	Chan Ying-lun style="width: 2px; background-color: #3B648C;" data-sort-value="Hong Kong Democratic Foundation" |	HKDF	19,806 (19.2%)
	Diana Leung Wai-tung style="width: 2px; background-color: #DCDCDC;" data-sort-value="Independent (politician)" |	Independent (DF)	15,230 (14.8%)
	Jennifer Chow Kit-bing style="width: 2px; background-color: #DCDCDC;" data-sort-value="Independent (politician)" |	Independent	5,805 (5.6%)
Hong Kong Island West	Yeung Sum style="width: 2px; background-color: #136C56;" data-sort-value="United Democrats of Hong Kong" |	United Democrats	45,108 (65.4%)
	Huang Chen-ya style="width: 2px; background-color: #136C56;" data-sort-value="United Democrats of Hong Kong" |	United Democrats	31,052 (45.0%)
	David Chan Yuk-cheung style="width: 2px; background-color: #DCDCDC;" data-sort-value="Independent (politician)" |	Independent	29,413 (42.6%)
	Alexander Chang Yau-hung style="width: 2px; background-color: #DC2A2A;" data-sort-value="Liberal Democratic Federation of Hong Kong" |	LDF	12,145 (17.6%)
	Ronnie Wong Man-chiu style="width: 2px; background-color: #ED6420;" data-sort-value="New Hong Kong Alliance" |	NHKA	6,113 (8.9%)
	Winnie Cheung Wai-sun style="width: 2px; background-color: #ED6420;" data-sort-value="New Hong Kong Alliance" |	NHKA	5,821 (8.4%)
Kowloon East	Szeto Wah style="width: 2px; background-color: #136C56;" data-sort-value="United Democrats of Hong Kong" |	United Democrats	57,921 (70.3%)
	Li Wah-ming style="width: 2px; background-color: #04770a;" data-sort-value="Meeting Point" |	Meeting Point	49,643 (60.2%)
	Hau Shui-pui		KTMCA	21,225 (25.8%)
	Poon Chi-fai style="width: 2px; background-color: #DCDCDC;" data-sort-value="Independent (politician)" |	Independent	16,625 (20.2%)
	Chan Cheong		October Review	3,431 (4.2%)
	Li Ting-kit style="width: 2px; background-color: #000095;" data-sort-value="Hong Kong and Kowloon Trades Union Council" |	TUC	3,393 (4.1%)
	Philip Li Koi-hop style="width: 2px; background-color: #C0C0C0;" data-sort-value="Nonpartisan" |	Nonpartisan (LDF)	865 (1.0%)
Kowloon Central	Lau Chin-shek style="width: 2px; background-color: #136C56;" data-sort-value="United Democrats of Hong Kong" |	United Democrats	68,489 (62.2%)
	Conrad Lam Kui-shing style="width: 2px; background-color: #136C56;" data-sort-value="United Democrats of Hong Kong" |	United Democrats	56,084 (51.0%)
	Chan Yuen-han style="width: 2px; background-color: #FF0000;" data-sort-value="Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions" |	FTU	44,894 (40.8%)
	Peter Chan Chi-kwan style="width: 2px; background-color: #DCDCDC;" data-sort-value="Independent (politician)" |	Independent (HKCA)	14,145 (12.9%)
	Cecilia Yeung Lai-yin style="width: 2px; background-color: #DCDCDC;" data-sort-value="Independent (politician)" |	Independent (HKRC)	8,257 (7.5%)
	John Dragon Young style="width: 2px; background-color: #DCDCDC;" data-sort-value="Independent (politician)" |	Independent (HKAS/UDHK)	6,273 (5.7%)
	Justin Cheung Chung-ming style="width: 2px; background-color: #DCDCDC;" data-sort-value="Independent (politician)" |	Independent	2,158 (2.0%)
Kowloon West	Frederick Fung Kin-kee style="width: 2px; background-color: #faf400;" data-sort-value="Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood" |	ADPL	36,508 (52.5%)
	James To Kun-sun style="width: 2px; background-color: #136C56;" data-sort-value="United Democrats of Hong Kong" |	United Democrats	26,352 (37.9%)
	Desmond Lee Yu-tai style="width: 2px; background-color: #DCDCDC;" data-sort-value="Independent (politician)" |	Independent (HKCA/UDHK)	21,471 (30.9%)
	Kingsley Sit Ho-yin style="width: 2px; background-color: #DCDCDC;" data-sort-value="Independent (politician)" |	Independent	18,634 (26.8%)
	Law Cheung-kwok style="width: 2px; background-color: #faf400;" data-sort-value="Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood" |	ADPL	17,145 (24.7%)
	Ng Kin-sun style="width: 2px; background-color: #DC2A2A;" data-sort-value="Liberal Democratic Federation of Hong Kong" |	LDF	6,098 (8.8%)
New Territories East	Emily Lau Wai-hing style="width: 2px; background-color: #DCDCDC;" data-sort-value="Independent (politician)" |	Independent	46,515 (48.1%)
	Andrew Wong Wang-fat style="width: 2px; background-color: #DCDCDC;" data-sort-value="Independent (politician)" |	Independent	39,806 (41.2%)
	Tony Kan Chung-nin style="width: 2px; background-color: #DCDCDC;" data-sort-value="Independent (politician)" |	Independent	37,126 (38.4%)
	Lau Kong-wah style="width: 2px; background-color: #136C56;" data-sort-value="United Democrats of Hong Kong" |	United Democrats	26,659 (27.6%)
	Johnston Wong Hong-chung style="width: 2px; background-color: #136C56;" data-sort-value="United Democrats of Hong Kong" |	United Democrats	26,156 (27.1%)
	Choi Man-hing style="width: 2px; background-color: #DCDCDC;" data-sort-value="Independent (politician)" |	Independent	348 (0.4%)
	Eric Leung Ka-ching style="width: 2px; background-color: #DCDCDC;" data-sort-value="Independent (politician)" |	Independent	306 (0.3%)
New Territories South	Lee Wing-tat style="width: 2px; background-color: #136C56;" data-sort-value="United Democrats of Hong Kong" |	United Democrats	52,192 (56.9%)
	Albert Chan Wai-yip style="width: 2px; background-color: #136C56;" data-sort-value="United Democrats of Hong Kong" |	United Democrats	42,164 (45.9%)
	Leung Yiu-chung style="width: 2px; background-color: #FFC500;" data-sort-value="Neighbourhood and Worker's Service Centre" |	NWSC	38,568 (42.0%)
	Yeung Fuk-kwong style="width: 2px; background-color: #DCDCDC;" data-sort-value="Independent (politician)" |	Independent (PHKS)	30,095 (32.8%)
New Territories West	Ng Ming-yam style="width: 2px; background-color: #136C56;" data-sort-value="United Democrats of Hong Kong" |	United Democrats	42,319 (51.9%)
	Tai Chin-wah style="width: 2px; background-color: #DCDCDC;" data-sort-value="Independent (politician)" |	Independent	30,871 (37.9%)
	Zachary Wong Wai-yin style="width: 2px; background-color: #04770a;" data-sort-value="Meeting Point" |	Meeting Point	27,243 (33.4%)
	Tang Siu-tong style="width: 2px; background-color: #DCDCDC;" data-sort-value="Independent (politician)" |	Independent	23,389 (28.7%)
	Tso Shiu-wai style="width: 2px; background-color: #DC2A2A;" data-sort-value="Liberal Democratic Federation of Hong Kong" |	LDF	20,018 (24.6%)
New Territories North	Fung Chi-wood style="width: 2px; background-color: #136C56;" data-sort-value="United Democrats of Hong Kong" |	United Democrats	23,267 (49.9%)
	Tik Chi-yuen style="width: 2px; background-color: #04770a;" data-sort-value="Meeting Point" |	Meeting Point	21,702 (46.5%)
	Cheung Hon-chung style="width: 2px; background-color: #DCDCDC;" data-sort-value="Independent (politician)" |	Independent (LDF)	16,221 (34.8%)
	Johnny Wong Chi-keung style="width: 2px; background-color: #DC2A2A;" data-sort-value="Liberal Democratic Federation of Hong Kong" |	LDF	15,350 (32.9%)
	Ronald Chow Mei-tak style="width: 2px; background-color: #faf400;" data-sort-value="Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood" |	ADPL	7,117 (15.3%)
	Tong Wai-man style="width: 2px; background-color: #DCDCDC;" data-sort-value="Independent (politician)" |	Independent	1,449 (3.1%)

Bibliography

• An Overview of the Hong Kong Legislative Council Elections of 1991 The Asian Journal of Public Administration Vol. 13 No. 2 (1991 Dec).