The 1956 Hong Kong Urban Council election was held on 7 March 1956. The elected seats were extended from four to eight seats and the election was for the 6 of the 8 elected seats of the Urban Council of Hong Kong. 6,040 of the 14,682, about 41 per cent of the eligible voters cast their ballots in this election, highest turnout rate in the history of the Urban Council elections. The newly established political group

Hong Kong Civic Association The Hong Kong Civic Association is one of the longest-existing political organisations in Hong Kong. Established in 1954 by a group of teachers, professionals and businessmen, the Civic Association was one of the two semi-political parties to ...

won two of the six seats while the rest were won by the Reform Club of Hong Kong. ''The China Mail'' commented the election as "the first of a genuine 'political contest'" between two parties. Alison Bell, a Scottish-born Hong Kong doctor ran as the candidate for the Reform Club became the first woman to be elected to the council. The four candidates who gained the highest votes would have a three-year term and the other two would have only a one-year term.

Overview

The election was noted by its high turnout and the competition between two political groups for the first time. 6,048 of the 14,682 eligible voters cast their ballots, which consisted of 41.2 per cent of the electorate, which was the highest turnout rate in the history of the Urban Council elections. Many of the voters were Chinese. The Reform Club of Hong Kong had a decisive victory over the newly established

which founded two years ago in 1954 by getting all four candidates of its ticket elected, winning four of the six seats. Alison Bell, a Scottish-born Hong Kong doctor ran as the candidate for the Reform Club became the first woman to be elected to the council. Another Club's newcomer was Chan Shu-woon, son of the former Guangdong warlord

Chen Jitang Chen Jitang () (January 23, 1890 – November 3, 1954), also spelled Chen Chi-tang, was born into a Hakka Chinese family in Fangcheng, Guangxi. He joined the Chinese Revolutionary Alliance in 1908 and began serving in the Guangdong Army in 19 ...

. Only

Li Yiu-bor Li Yiu-bor, OBE, JP (22 October 1909 – 6 September 1976) was a Hong Kong teacher, publisher, politician and religious leader. Biography Li was born on 22 October 1909 and was educated at the Wah Yan College. He became a teacher at the school i ...

and Dr.

Woo Pak-foo Dr Woo Pak Foo, OBE, JP was the medical participator and member of the Urban Council in Hong Kong between 1956 and 1969. He graduated from the University of Edinburgh with bachelor's degree of Medicine and Surgery and a Licentiate in Midwifer ...

on the Association's six-candidate ticket were elected, while

Oswald Cheung Sir Oswald Victor Cheung (, 22 January 1922 – 10 December 2003) was a barrister in Hong Kong, known as the "doyen of the bar". "Ossie" was the first ethnic Chinese to become a Queen's Counsel in colonial Hong Kong, and the first Chinese cha ...

and

Hilton Cheong-Leen Hilton Cheong-Leen, Order of the British Empire, CBE, Justice of Peace, JP (; 6 August 1922 – 4 January 2022) was a Hong Kong politician and businessman. He is the longest uninterrupted serving elected officeholder in Hong Kong history as an ...

failed to get elected. It was regarded as "the first time in the Colony's history the election was a 'political' contest between two parties". The Reform Club supporters who favoured block vote, in which over 4,000 out of at least 4,465 voted according to the Club's ticket, contributed to its victory, while the Civic Association lacked the organisational ability of the Reform Club electorate.

Results

Citations

References

* Lau, Y.W. (2002). ''A history of the municipal councils of Hong Kong : 1883-1999 : from the Sanitary Board to the Urban Council and the Regional Council''. Leisure and Cultural Service Dept. * Pepper, Suzanne (2008). ''Keeping Democracy at Bay:Hong Kong and the Challenge of Chinese Political Reform''. Rowman & Littlefield. {{Hong Kong elections 1956 elections in Asia 1956 in Hong Kong Urban March 1956 events in Asia 1956 elections in the British Empire