| Civic Party 公民黨 |
|
|---|---|
| Chairman | Kenneth Chan |
| Leader | Alan Leong |
| Founded | 19 March 2006 |
| Preceded by | Article 45 Concern Group |
| Headquarters | Unit 202, 2/F, Block B, Sea View Estate 4-6 Watson Road, North Point, Hong Kong |
| Ideology | Social liberalism[1] |
| Political position | Centre-left |
| National affiliation | Pro-democracy camp |
| Official colours | Purple |
| Legislative Council |
5 / 60
|
| District Councils |
7 / 507
|
| Website | |
| http://www.civicparty.hk/ | |
| Politics of Hong Kong Political parties Elections |
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Civic Party (Chinese: 公民黨; Jyutping: Gung1 Man4 Dong2) is a liberal democratic political party in Hong Kong.
The Civic Party is currently the third largest political party in the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, with five members securing seats in the 2008 Hong Kong Legislative Council elections. The leader is Alan Leong and the chairman is Kenneth Chan.[2]
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The Civic Party was officially founded on 19 March 2006 by members of the Article 45 Concern Group, student leaders and pro-democracy advocates, primarily from the legal profession and the academic field. Kuan Hsin-chi became the first chairman and Audrey Eu Yuet-mee the first leader of the party. At the time of formation, the party had six members (Dr Fernando Cheung Chiu Hung, Audrey Eu, Alan Leong Kah Kit, Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee, Mandy Tam Heung-man and Ronny Tong Ka Wah) in the Legislative Council, making it the fourth largest party.
In February 2007, Civic Party legislator Alan Leong secured 132 nominations and became the first pro-democracy Chief Executive candidate in the history of Hong Kong. He eventually lost by 123 to 649 votes to favourite Sir Donald Tsang in the election.
The Civic Party won five seats in the 2008 Legislative Council election. In the geographical constituencies, Tanya Chan and Audrey Eu secured seats on Hong Kong Island, Alan Leong in Kowloon East, and Ronny Tong in New Territories East; Margaret Ng was re-elected as the Legal functional constituency representative.
During the election campaign, poll numbers consistently showed a high level of support for the party in several geographical constituencies. However, with the exception of the Hong Kong Island ticket, the party's results failed to match pre-election predictions. Ronny Tong only took the sixth out of seven seats in his constituency, Alan Leong the final seat, while Claudia Mo Man-ching and Fernando Cheung lost in their respective constituencies. The underperformance was blamed on the low turnout and the party's lack of district work.
The controversies surrounding the judicial review court case on the environmental impact assessment report for the Hong Kong Section of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge and another Vallejos v. Commissioner of Registration court case in 2011 had raised criticisms against Civic Party. [3]Alan Leong admitted in October 2011 that "public fury was whipped up against Civic Party".[4]
On 9 October, 2011, about 10,000 people joined in a march protesting against the Civic Party for allegedly supporting the Filipino maids to gain permanent residency status in Hong Kong.[5]
The party is managed by the nineteen-member Executive Committee, headed by the Chairman and Leader. It has five Policy Branches, five District Branches, and a youth branch known as the Young Civics.
The admittance of any new member must be backed by two existing members. In addition, a prospective member must complete local branch work for one year before being inducted as an ordinary member.
The party is considered part of the pan-democratic camp in the Legislative Council. It aims to set up a society built upon the rule of law, protection of individual rights, and universal suffrage.
During the 2008 Legislative Council election campaign, candidates from the party also called for the introduction of a statutory minimum wage and a competition law.
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