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The Reform Club of Hong Kong was one of the oldest political organisations in
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
, existing from 1949 until the mid-1990s. Established by expatriates who were concerned about the
Young Plan The Young Plan was a program for settling Germany's World War I reparations. It was written in August 1929 and formally adopted in 1930. It was presented by the committee headed (1929–30) by American industrialist Owen D. Young, founder and for ...
proposed by
Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Mark Aitchison Young Sir Mark Aitchison Young (楊慕琦, 30 June 1886 – 12 May 1974) was a British administrator who became the Governor of Hong Kong during the years immediately before and after the Japanese occupation of the territory. Early life, service in ...
in 1949, the Reform Club was the first semi-political party to contest in the
Urban Council The Urban Council (UrbCo) was a municipal council in Hong Kong responsible for municipal services on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon (including New Kowloon). These services were provided by the council's executive arm, the Urban Servic ...
elections, with its longtime chairman
Brook Bernacchi Brook Antony Bernacchi (; 22 January 1922 – 22 September 1996) was a lawyer and politician in Hong Kong. He was the long-time chairman of the Reform Club of Hong Kong, the then quasi-opposition party in the colony and the longest serving ele ...
serving on the Council for about forty years. It demanded expansion of the power of the Urban Council and elected representatives in the Legislative Council for years. Together with the Hong Kong Civic Association, they were the closest to
opposition parties Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''th ...
in Hong Kong active in the municipal electoral politics during the post-war colonial period. With the expansion of the franchise in the 1980s, the Reform Club gradually declined and was replaced by the more energetic political groups. The Club ceased to function after its chairman Bernacchi retired from the Urban Council in 1995.


History

The Reform Club was founded by
expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...
barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...
Brook Bernacchi Brook Antony Bernacchi (; 22 January 1922 – 22 September 1996) was a lawyer and politician in Hong Kong. He was the long-time chairman of the Reform Club of Hong Kong, the then quasi-opposition party in the colony and the longest serving ele ...
in 1949 in the midst of the debate over the
Young Plan The Young Plan was a program for settling Germany's World War I reparations. It was written in August 1929 and formally adopted in 1930. It was presented by the committee headed (1929–30) by American industrialist Owen D. Young, founder and for ...
, a plan for wide constitutional reform in Hong Kong. The immediate target of the Club was to campaign for direct elections to the
Legislative Council of Hong Kong The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (LegCo) is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong. It sits under China's " one country, two systems" constitutional arrangement, and is the power centre of Hong Kong ...
. Unlike the
Hong Kong Chinese Reform Association The Hong Kong Chinese Reform Association () is a pro-Beijing political organisation established in 1949 in Hong Kong. It was one of the three pillars of the pro-Communist leftist camp throughout most of the time in Hong Kong under colonial ru ...
, which was set up during the same time for similar causes, the Reform Club was dominated by expatriates. For decades the Reform Club and the Civic Association dominated municipal politics as they provided most of the elected members of the
Urban Council The Urban Council (UrbCo) was a municipal council in Hong Kong responsible for municipal services on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon (including New Kowloon). These services were provided by the council's executive arm, the Urban Servic ...
. It advocated more representative government in the territory and the improvement of public sector social services. In 1960, the two groups formed a coalition and sent a delegate to London to demand direct elections to the Legislative Council. The Reform Club adopted a modest stance amid the 1966 riots, opposing violent actions from both protesters and the police. In 1979, the Reform Club threatened to boycott elections if the Urban Council would not receive a majority of elected members and universal franchise was extended to all Hong Kong citizens. In 1982, it took part in the elections for the newly established
district board The district councils, formerly district boards until 1999, are the local councils for the 18 districts of Hong Kong. History Before establishment An early basis for the delivery of local services were the Kaifong associations, set up i ...
s in the urban districts, which significantly extended the franchise. Starting from the late 1960s, the Club's ability to monopolise Urban Council elections with the Civic Association eroded, in light of the emergence of the popular independent candidates. Before the expansion of the franchise, the Reform Club had 15 members in the Urban Council of 1983. But the Reform Club's influence in the Urban Council reduced during the 1980s. Following the 1989 municipal elections, only five Reform Club members remained due to its lack of grassroots support. The Reform Club and Civic Association were gradually supplanted by the new pro-democracy groups including the
Hong Kong Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood The Hong Kong Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood (ADPL) is a Hong Kong pro-democracy social-liberal political party catering to grassroots interest with a strong basis in Sham Shui Po. Established on 26 October 1986, it was one ...
and
Meeting Point Meeting Point (Chinese: 匯點) was a liberal political organisation and party in Hong Kong formed by a group of former student activists in the 1970s and intellectuals for the discussion for the Sino-British negotiation on the question of Hong ...
. When at the 1995 municipal elections Brook Bernacchi retired, the Reform Club ceased to be active in the Hong Kong political scene.


Notable members

*
Brook Bernacchi Brook Antony Bernacchi (; 22 January 1922 – 22 September 1996) was a lawyer and politician in Hong Kong. He was the long-time chairman of the Reform Club of Hong Kong, the then quasi-opposition party in the colony and the longest serving ele ...
(founder) * Alison Bell *
Chan Shu-woon Chan Shu-woon (25 December 1921 – 30 November 2003) was an educator in China, Hong Kong and the United States. Chan was the third son of Chen Jitang, Guangdong warlord from 1929 to 1936. During his stay in Hong Kong, he was the principal of Tak ...
*
Elsie Elliott Elsie Tu (; ; 2 June 1913 – 8 December 2015), known as Elsie Elliott in her earlier life, was an English-born Hong Kong social activist, elected member of the Urban Council of Hong Kong from 1963 to 1995, and member of the Legislative Counc ...
(later known as Elsie Tu) *
Henry Hu Henry Hu Hung-lick GBM GBS JP (, born 20 January 1920) is a barrister in Hong Kong, formerly served as the vice-chairman of the Reform Club, Legislative Council member, and vice-chairperson of Urban Council during 1 April 1975 to 31 March ...
* Kan Yuet Keung *
Charles Edgar Loseby Charles Edgar Loseby (1881 – 1970) was a captain, lawyer and British politician being Member of Parliament for Bradford East. Before World War I, he was a teacher at St Cyprian's School, Eastbourne and in 1912 he taught at Winchester Hou ...
*
Cecilia Yeung Cecilia Yeung Lai-yin (, born 1931 in Hong Kong) was the Wong Tai Sin District Board member (1983–1989, 1991–1994) and Urban Councillor (1971–1995). She was also the Vice-chairwoman of the Reform Club of Hong Kong, school supervisor and pr ...


Election performance


Municipal elections


District Board/Council elections


References


External links


Hong Kong Newspaper Clippings Online
{{Hong Kong political parties 1949 establishments in Hong Kong 1995 establishments in Hong Kong Defunct political parties in Hong Kong Political parties disestablished in 1995 Political parties established in 1949