Citizens Party () was a small
pro-democracy
Democratization, or democratisation, is the transition to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. It may be a hybrid regime in transition from an authoritarian regime to a full ...
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
existed in Hong Kong from 1997 to 2008. It was founded by
Legislative Council member
Christine Loh
Christine Loh Kung-wai, SBS, OBE, JP, Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite (born 1 February 1956), is a former Hong Kong Legislative Councillor, founder and CEO of Civic Exchange, founder of the Citizens Party, and founder of Hong K ...
in May 1997.
Beliefs
Being part of the
pro-democracy camp
The pro-democracy camp, also known as the pan-democracy camp, is a political alignment in Hong Kong that supports increased democracy, namely the universal suffrage of the Chief Executive and the Legislative Council as given by the Basic L ...
, the Citizens Party demanded democratisation with the ultimate aims of
universal suffrage
Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stanc ...
which was stated in the
Hong Kong Basic Law
The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China is a national law of China that serves as the organic law for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). Comprising nine chapters, 160 ...
. However, it claimed to be more creative and less confrontational than the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
in seeking democratic reform and emphasised the importance of dialogue with the Beijing officials. In general, the party believed in an accountable government with
representative democracy
Representative democracy, also known as indirect democracy, is a type of democracy where elected people represent a group of people, in contrast to direct democracy. Nearly all modern Western-style democracies function as some type of represen ...
under
rule of law
The rule of law is the political philosophy that all citizens and institutions within a country, state, or community are accountable to the same laws, including lawmakers and leaders. The rule of law is defined in the ''Encyclopedia Britannica ...
, that would protect citizens'
personal freedoms and
equal opportunity
Equal opportunity is a state of fairness in which individuals are treated similarly, unhampered by artificial barriers, prejudices, or preferences, except when particular distinctions can be explicitly justified. The intent is that the important ...
, as well as promote
tolerance and personal responsibility. In economic policies, the Citizens Party believed that
free-market
In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any ot ...
principles could best respond to change and provide choice. However, it also demanded proper regulation where there is an overriding public interest, such as to ensure fair competition.
The Citizens Party differentiated itself from other parties by stressing on anti-discrimination and minority issues and was particularly concerned with environmental protection. The Chairwoman Christine Loh was famous for her campaign on legislation and implementation of the
Protection of the Harbour Ordinance
The Protection of the Harbour Ordinance, Cap. 531 () is an ordinance in Hong Kong Law that aims to limit land reclamation in the surviving waters of Victoria Harbour.
Content
In section 3, the ordinance states that:
*"The harbour is to be pro ...
, to ban any reclamation in the
Victoria Harbour
Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbour in Hong Kong separating Hong Kong Island in the south from the Kowloon Peninsula to the north. The harbour's deep, sheltered waters and strategic location on South China Sea were instrumental i ...
. It also opposed government's proposal of building a prison on
Hei Ling Chau
Hei Ling Chau, formerly Hayling Chau, is an island of Hong Kong, located east of Silver Mine Bay and Chi Ma Wan of Lantau Island. Administratively, it is part of the Islands District.
Geography
Hei Ling Chau is located south of Peng Chau and ...
Island. It also stressed the
women's rights
Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...
, anti-discrimination and minority issues, such as demand for legislation against racial and sexual orientation discriminations.
History
It was officially founded on 4 May 1997 by 14 pro-democracy individuals on the eve of the
handover of Hong Kong
Sovereignty of Hong Kong was transferred from the United Kingdom to the China, People's Republic of China (PRC) at midnight on 1 July 1997. This event ended 156 years of British rule in the British Hong Kong, former colony. Hong Kong was establ ...
. Its first chair,
Christine Loh Kung-wai
Christine Loh Kung-wai, SBS, OBE, JP, Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite (born 1 February 1956), is a former Hong Kong Legislative Councillor, founder and CEO of Civic Exchange, founder of the Citizens Party, and founder of Hong K ...
, was a
legislative council member
elected in 1995. Loh proposed the legislation of the Protection of the Harbour Ordinance to prevent excessive harbour reclamation, which was passed in June 1997. The
Provisional Legislative Council
The Provisional Legislative Council (PLC) was the interim legislature of Hong Kong that operated from 1997 to 1998. The legislature was founded in Guangzhou and sat in Shenzhen from 1996 (with offices in Hong Kong) until the handover in 1997 an ...
(PLC) controlled by the pro-Beijing politicians was asked by the SAR government to freeze the Ordinance. Loh and the
Society for Protection of the Harbour
Society for Protection of the Harbour (SPH) () is a Hong-Kong-based organisation founded in November 1995. It is a charitable, non-political and non-profit making green group. The objectives of the organisation are to protect the Victoria Harbo ...
eventually successfully lobbied the provisional legislature not to freeze the law.
Loh returned to the legislative council in the
1998 legislative council election in the
Hong Kong Island
Hong Kong Island is an Islands and peninsulas of Hong Kong, island in the southern part of Hong Kong. Known colloquially and on road signs simply as Hong Kong, the island has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km ...
, despite another party's candidate Mozart Lui Yat-ming lost in the
New Territories East. After Loh decided not to run for the
2000 LegCo election and resigned as chair before the election, the Citizens Party became less active in the political arena without representation in the legislative council. However, the party continued to express views in various issues.
In the
1999 District Council elections, the party won a seat in the
Heng Fa Chuen
Heng Fa Chuen is a private housing estate in Chai Wan, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong, jointly developed by MTR Corporation and Heng Fa Chuen Development. It is located on the waterfront and offers views of the Tathong Channel. Heng Fa Chuen lies ...
constituency. In the
2003 District Council elections, its then chairman,
Alex Chan Kai-chung, unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the
Lamma and
Po Toi
Po Toi (commonly , originally ) is the main island of the Po Toi Islands and the southernmost island of Hong Kong, with an area of 3.69 km².
Name
It is said that the island used to produce dried seaweeds (), which were shaped like the catt ...
constituency.
The party officially wound itself up in December 2008, under Section 21 of the
Companies Ordinance.
List of chairs
*
Christine Loh
Christine Loh Kung-wai, SBS, OBE, JP, Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite (born 1 February 1956), is a former Hong Kong Legislative Councillor, founder and CEO of Civic Exchange, founder of the Citizens Party, and founder of Hong K ...
, 1997–2000
*
Alex Chan, 2000–2008
Election performance
Legislative Council elections
District Council elections
References
{{Hong Kong political parties
1997 establishments in Hong Kong
2008 disestablishments in Hong Kong
Defunct political parties in Hong Kong
Environmentalism in Hong Kong
Green political parties
Liberal parties in Hong Kong
Political parties disestablished in 2008
Political parties established in 1997