Hong Kong Civic Association

Hong Kong Civic Association
香港公民協會
Chairman Hilton Cheong-Leen
Founded 26 October 1954
Ideology Centrism
Conservatism
Political position Centre to centre-right
Colours Green
Website
www.hkcivicassn.org
Politics of Hong Kong
Political parties
Elections

The Hong Kong Civic Association (Traditional Chinese: 香港公民協會, Simplified Chinese: 香港公民协会) is a Hong Kong political group. Established in 1954, the Civic Association is one of the oldest existing political organisations in Hong Kong. Together with the Reform Club of Hong Kong, they were the two dominant groups in the Urban Council elections before the 1980s.

Beliefs

Members mostly consisting of teachers and some professionals and businessmen, the Civic Association was seen as a predominantly Chinese, centrist and conservative political group compared to the Reform Club of Hong Kong, its counterpart in the Urban Council before the 1980s. At its foundation, the objectives of the associations were:[1]

The Civic Association claimed to promote "stability, prosperity and progress" in its electoral slogan. It focused more on social and livelihood issues such as cost of living the adequacy of hospitals and rentals.

The association also drew attention to constitutional issues, demanding greater power of the Urban Council in education and health matters, and also elected representatives in the Legislative Council and Executive Council. However the association refrained from calling for self-government and independence, a political stance it regarded as the major demarcation between the association and the radical groups, such as the United Nations Association of Hong Kong.[2] it argued that any "radical change" would threaten Hong Kong's stability.[3]

History

The Civic Association was founded on 26 October 1954 in Hong Kong by Brother Brigant Cassian, who was a French-born religious educator and also the founder of the Hong Kong Teachers' Association. It was one of the civil organisations to strive for constitutional reform as proposed by the then Governor Mark Aitchison Young in 1946. It sent the petition endorsed by 406 organisations with half a million affiliated members.[3] It began to contest in the Urban Council since the 1956 Urban Council election. They included political reform in their campaign platform and won 2 of the 6 seats. In the 1950s, its representation increased from two to eight seats in the Urban Council. After Cassian died in 1957 and three conservative expatriate leaders resigned in 1959, Hilton Cheong-Leen became the head of the association.[3]

Cheong-Leen was determined to change Hong Kong's "colonial museum piece" status. In 1960, the association formed a coalition with the Reform Club, led by Peter Lee Chung-yin, co-founder of the Civic Association and also Secretary-General of the association between 1958 and 1964. The Civic Reform Coalition sent a delegate to London to press the British government for constitutional reform.[4] They demanded a 50–50 split between elected and appointed Legislative Councillors plus a majority of elected seats on a "lower house" Urban Council with expanded powers. Their demands were rejected by London without explanation, their demands were not achieved until 40 years later in the 1990s.[3]

Starting from the late 1960s, the membership of the Civic Association decreased and its ability to monpolise Urban Council elections with the Reform Club eroded.[5] In 1975 the association claimed a membership of 10,000.

Hilton Cheong-Leen was also the Chairman of the Urban Council in the 1980s and the first elected Urban Council member appointed to the Legislative Council. In 1987, the Association held 4 seats in the Legislative Council; 4 seats in Urban Council; 1 seat in Regional Council; 18 seats in the district boards, in total 27 seats.[6]

It was absorbed into the Beijing government's United Front on the eve of the transfer of the sovereignty of Hong Kong in the late 1980s.

Election performance

Legislative Council elections

Election Number of
popular votes
% of
popular votes
EC
seats
GC
seats
FC
seats
Total seats +/−
1985 Electoral college 3 0
3 / 60
2Increase
1988 Electoral college 1 0
1 / 60
2Decrease
1991 35,616Steady 2.60Steady 0 0
0 / 60
1Decrease

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
1956 12,907Steady 43.03Steady
2 / 8
1957 15,219Increase 56.50Increase
3 / 8
1959 6,010Decrease 23.82Decrease
4 / 8
1961 uncontested uncontested
4 / 8
1963 2,565Decrease 19.53Decrease
4 / 8
1965 unknown unknown
5 / 10
1967 14,816Increase 37.69Increase
4 / 10
1969 14,335Decrease 42.58Increase
5 / 10
1971 13,016Decrease 34.38Decrease
5 / 10
1973 20,912Increase 44.86Increase
5 / 12
1975 15,487Increase 31.30Decrease
4 / 12
1977 15,098Decrease 46.78Increase
4 / 12
1979 9,792Decrease 19.09Decrease
4 / 12
1981 11,688Decrease 45.35Decrease
4 / 12
1983 23,576Increase 18.58Decrease
4 / 15
1986 44,427Increase 12.60Decrease
3 / 15
0 / 12
3 / 27
1989 15,270Decrease 7.18Decrease
4 / 15
0 / 12
4 / 27
1991 22,048Increase 5.63Decrease
2 / 15
0 / 12
2 / 27
1995 189Decrease 0.03Decrease
0 / 32
0 / 27
0 / 59

District Board/Council elections

Election Number of
popular votes
% of
popular votes
Total
elected seats
+/−
1982 32,866Steady 9.22Steady
14 / 132
1985 38,544Increase 5.57Decrease
21 / 237
7Increase
1988 42,397Increase 6.65Increase
16 / 264
3Increase
1991 24,760Decrease 4.66Decrease
11 / 272
5Decrease
2007 375Steady 0.03Steady
0 / 405
0Steady

References

  1. Tsang, Steve (1995). Government and Politics: A Documentary History of Hong Kong. Hong Kong University Press. p. 225.
  2. Poon, Kit (2007). The Political Future of Hong Kong: Democracy Within Communist China. Routledge. p. 6.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Pepper, Suzanne (2008). Keeping Democracy at Bay: Hong Kong and the Challenge of Chinese Political Reform. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 131–136.
  4. Hong Kong University (2002). Growing with Hong Kong: The University and Its Graduates : the First 90 Years. Hong Kong University Press. p. 273.
  5. Lam, Wai-man (2004). Understanding the Political Culture of Hong Kong: The Paradox of Activism and Depoliticization. M.E. Sharpe. p. 11.
  6. "Hong Kong Civic Association".