The Eastern District Council is the district council for the Eastern District 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 List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

. It is one of 18 such councils. The Eastern District Council currently consists of 35 members, of which the district is divided into 35 constituencies, electing a total of 35 members. The last election was held on 24 November 2019.

History

The Eastern District Council was established on 28 October 1981 under the name of the Eastern District Board as the result of the colonial

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 ...

Murray MacLehose Crawford Murray MacLehose, Baron MacLehose of Beoch, (; 16 October 1917 – 27 May 2000), was a British politician, diplomat and the 25th Governor of Hong Kong, from 1971 to 1982. He was the longest-serving governor of the colony, with fou ...

's District Administration Scheme reform. The District Board was partly elected with the ''ex-officio''

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 ...

members, as well as members appointed by the Governor until 1994 when last Governor

Chris Patten Christopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes, (; born 12 May 1944) is a British politician who was the 28th and last Governor of Hong Kong from 1992 to 1997 and Chairman of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1992. He was made a life ...

refrained from appointing any member. The Eastern District Board became Eastern Provisional District Board after the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) was established in 1997 with the appointment system being reintroduced by

Chief Executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

Tung Chee-hwa Tung Chee-hwa (; born 7 July 1937) is a Hong Kong businessman and politician who served as the first Chief Executive of Hong Kong between 1997 and 2005, upon the transfer of sovereignty on 1 July. He is currently a vice-chairman of the Chi ...

. The Eastern District Council was established on 1 January 2000 after the first District Council election in 1999. The council has become fully elected when the appointed seats were abolished in 2011 after the modified constitutional reform proposal was passed by the Legislative Council in 2010. The Eastern District Council was one of the largest District Councils in Hong Kong and the largest on Hong Kong Island, now the largest District Council replace status in the Kwun Tong District Council . Compared to the continuing shrinking in size of the

Wan Chai District Council The Wan Chai District Council is the district council for the Wan Chai District in Hong Kong. It is one of 18 such councils. The Wan Chai District Council currently consists of 13 members, of which the district is divided into 13 constituencies ...

, the government in 2015 decided to transfer

Tin Hau Mazu or Matsu is a Chinese sea goddess also known by several other names and titles. She is the deified form of the legendary figure Lin Mo or Lin Moniang, a Fujianese shamaness whose life span is traditionally dated from 960 to 987. ...

and Victoria Park constituencies from the Eastern to the Wan Chai District Council. Many older political organisations, especially the

Reform Club of Hong Kong The Reform Club of Hong Kong was one of the oldest political organisations in Hong Kong, existing from 1949 until the mid-1990s. Established by expatriates who were concerned about the Young Plan proposed by Governor Mark Aitchison Young in 1 ...

had a long presence in the Eastern District. In the 1985 election, an electoral coalition of 12 incumbents based on personal network surrounding

Kwan Lim-ho Kwan Lim-ho (; born 1947) is a Hong Kong lawyer and politician. He was an elected member of the Urban Council of Hong Kong, Eastern District Board and Yau Tsim District Board. Kwan was born in Hong Kong and was graduated from the Tung Wah Hosi ...

of the Reform Club, contested in the election, winning 10 seats in total. The traditional leftists through the

Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions The Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (HKFTU) is a pro-Beijing labour and political group established in 1948 in Hong Kong. It is the oldest and largest labour group in Hong Kong with over 420,000 members in 253 affiliates and associated ...

(FTU) also had considerable influence in their traditional stronghold of

North Point North Point is a mixed-use urban area in the Eastern District of Hong Kong. Located in the northeastern part of Hong Kong Island, the area is named after a cape between Causeway Bay and Tsat Tsz Mui that projects toward Kowloon Bay. Locat ...

and passed on its influence to the

Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) is a pro-Beijing conservative political party in Hong Kong. Chaired by Starry Lee and holding 13 Legislative Council seats, it is currently the largest party in the ...

(DAB) formed in 1992 and gradually expanded to the public estate areas in

Shau Kei Wan Shau Kei Wan or Shaukiwan is a neighborhood in the Eastern District of Hong Kong Island. The area is bordered by Chai Wan to the east, Mount Parker to the south, Sai Wan Ho to the west, and Victoria Harbour to the north. Shau Kei Wan is cons ...

and

Chai Wan Chai Wan (; ), formerly known as Sai Wan (西灣), lies at the east end of the urban area of Hong Kong Island next to Shau Kei Wan. The area is administratively part of the Eastern District, and is a mosaic of industrial and residential are ...

, while the influence of the pro-democrats, represented by the Democratic Party and the

Civic Party The Civic Party (CP) is a pro-democracy liberal political party in Hong Kong. It is currently chaired by barrister Alan Leong. The party was formed in 2006 on the basis of the Basic Law Article 45 Concern Group, which was derived from the ...

today, was mostly limited to certain areas of private apartments such as Tai Koo Shing and Sai Wan Ho. The pro-democrats achieved the majority of the council for the first time in the 2019 election in a historic landslide victory amid the pro-democracy protests, taking 32 of the 35 seats in the council, with many of the pro-Beijing strongholds in North Point fell into the hand of pro-democracy independents. The Civic Party emerged as the largest party with five seats which saw its veteran councillor

Joseph Lai Joseph Lai Chi-keong (; born 13 December 1947) is a Hong Kong educator and politician. He is a former chairman of the Eastern District Council and former member of the Eastern District Council since 1988, having representing Fei Tsui from 1994 unt ...

took the chairmanship.

Political control

Since 1982 political control of the council has been held by the following parties:

Political makeup

Elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

are held every four years.

District result maps

File:1994DBelectionmapc.svg, 1994 File:1999DCelectionmapc.svg, 1999 File:2003DCelectionmapc.svg, 2003 File:2007DCelectionmapc.svg, 2007 File:2011DCelectionmapc.svg, 2011 File:Eastern District Council 2015.svg, 2015 File:Eastern District Council (2019).svg, 2019

Members represented

Starting from 1 January 2020:

Leadership

Chairs

Since 1985, the chairman is elected by all the members of the board:

Vice Chairs

Notes

References

{{Eastern District Council elections Districts of Hong Kong Eastern District, Hong Kong District Councils of Hong Kong