Hong Kong Chinese Reform Association
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The Hong Kong Chinese Reform Association () is a
pro-Beijing The pro-Beijing camp, pro-establishment camp, pro-government camp or pro-China camp refers to a political alignment in Hong Kong which generally supports the policies of the Beijing central government and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) t ...
political organisation A political organization is any organization that involves itself in the political process, including political parties, non-governmental organizations, and special interest advocacy groups. Political organizations are those engaged in politica ...
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 rule (the others two being 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 ...
and
Chinese General Chamber of Commerce The Chinese General Chamber of Commerce (CGCCHK; ) is a non-profit organization of local Chinese firms and businessmen based in Hong Kong. It was founded in 1900 by Ho Fook and Lau Chu-pak, two prominent leaders of the Chinese community during th ...
).


History


Founding

It was first founded in May 1949 by a group of Chinese professionals and intellectuals in response to the then
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 ...
's plan of constitutional reform. The founding members included barristers Mok Ying-kwai and
Percy Chen Percy Chen (; 1901–20 February 1989) was a Chinese Trinidadian lawyer of Hakka descent, as well as a journalist, businessman and political activist. Family and early life Chen was born in Belmont, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, British West Indies, ...
, Chan Kwan-po, senior lecturer in the Department of Chinese of the
University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, it is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. HKU was also the fi ...
, Wong San-yin, formerly a leactuer in pharmacology in the University of Hong Kong and doctor Wu Tat-biu. Wong San-yin was elected the association's founding chairman. Wong San-yin was appointed to the
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC, zh, 中国人民政治协商会议), also known as the People's PCC (, ) or simply the PCC (), is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of ...
(CPPCC) after the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
was founded in October 1949. The association was seen as a counterblast to 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 ...
, which was founded in around the same time during the debate on the Young Plan and composed of mostly expatriate elite in Hong Kong. The colonial government had kept a watchful eye on the association. Young's successor,
Alexander Grantham Sir Alexander William George Herder Grantham, GCMG (; 15 March 1899 – 4 October 1978) was a British colonial administrator who governed Hong Kong and Fiji. Early life, colonial administration career Grantham was born on 15 March 1899 and ...
marked that the association "naturally attracted several political adventurers, notably Moscow-trained Percy Chen." Grantham also predicted that the Communists might try to get control of the association in the future.


The Young Plan and early years (1949–1952)

The association demanded that all unofficial members of the proposed municipal council should be elected and the appointment system should be dropped. In a meeting on 13 July 1949 attended by about 400 delegates from 142 registered Chinese civic organisations, the association and the
Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong The Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong (CMA; ) is a not-for-profit chamber of commerce established on 1 September 1934 and one of the most representative industrial associations in Hong Kong. With over 3,000 member companies from var ...
and also two Kowloon-based commercial bodies culminated signatures of 142 organisations which presented membership of 141,800 people from the business, industry, labour and education sectors in the Chinese community. During 1950–1951 the association had moved leftward towards the newly established
Communist government A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...
in Beijing with Mok Ying-kwai and Percy Chen emerging as its strongest leaders. After the constitutional reform was turned down by the London and Hong Kong governments in 1952, Percy Chen contested for the two resumed elected seats in the 1952 Urban Council election but failed to win a seat. In September 1952, the chairman of the association Mok Ying-kwai was deported. It was said that Mok's deportation was because of his record as a local champion of communist causes. Percy Chen subsequently sought help from the Hong Kong Chinese Clerks Association in reorganising the association. Choi Wai-hang of the Clerks Association joined the Reform Association at the end of 1952 which he later became one of the leaders of the association.


1950s to 1980s

The association evolved into a pressure group following the abandonment of the Young Plan, such as opposed to the increased of electricity tariff. It was one of the three pillars of the pro-Beijing leftist segment, the other two being the
Hong Kong and Kowloon 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 ...
and
Chinese General Chamber of Commerce The Chinese General Chamber of Commerce (CGCCHK; ) is a non-profit organization of local Chinese firms and businessmen based in Hong Kong. It was founded in 1900 by Ho Fook and Lau Chu-pak, two prominent leaders of the Chinese community during th ...
. It was one of the few organisations to hoist five-star flags on the
National Day of the People's Republic of China National Day ( zh, s=国庆节, t=, p=guóqìng jié, l=national celebration day, links=yes), officially the National Day of the People's Republic of China (), is a public holiday in China celebrated annually on 1 October as the national da ...
. Mok Ying-kwai was also chairman of the first Preparatory Committee for the National Day Celebration. The association and the Federation of Trade Unions were responsible for disturbing the relief and the Communist government sent medicine and rice to Hong Kong during the natural disaster in 1950s. Choi Wai-hang was arrested during the 1967 Leftist riots and was imprisoned to the Victoria Road Detention Centre (or the Mount Davis Concentration Camp) for about 18 months. Choi became the association chairman in the mid-1980s and remained as association leader until 1999.


Transition period (1980s–1997)

During the Sino-British negotiation on the Hong Kong sovereignty in the 1980s, the association sent a delegate to Beijing to visit
Ji Pengfei Ji Pengfei (simplified Chinese: 姬鹏飞; traditional Chinese: 姬鵬飛; pinyin: ''Jī Péngfēi''; February 2, 1910 – February 10, 2000) was a Chinese politician. Biography Ji Pengfei was born in Linyi, Yuncheng, Shanxi in 1910. He joined t ...
, Li Hou and
Lu Ping Lu Ping (; 27 September 1927 – 3 May 2015) was a Chinese politician and diplomat. He served as Head of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China. He is best known as China's delegation head ...
, heads of the
Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council is an administrative agency of the State Council of the People's Republic of China responsible for promoting cooperation and coordination of political, economic and cultural ties betwe ...
in December 1983. Percy Chen was also invited to witness the signature of the
Sino-British Joint Declaration The Sino-British Joint Declaration is a treaty between the governments of the United Kingdom and China signed in 1984 setting the conditions in which Hong Kong was transferred to Chinese control and for the governance of the territory after ...
in December 1984. The association participated in the 1991 District Board elections and its member Anna Tang King-yung won one seat in the Wan Chai District Board. In July 1994, the association co-founded the pro-Beijing business oriented
Hong Kong Progressive Alliance The Hong Kong Progressive Alliance (HKPA) was a Pro-Beijing camp, pro-Beijing, pro-business political party in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. It was established in 1994 and was merged into the Demo ...
(HKPA) in the direction of the
New China News Agency Xinhua News Agency (English pronunciation: )J. C. Wells: Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, 3rd ed., for both British and American English, or New China News Agency, is the official state news agency of the People's Republic of China. Xinhua ...
in preparation for the 1995 Legislative Council Election. In the 1995 Urban Council election, its member San Stephen Wong Hon-ching won a seat. However, in the 1996 election, Wong failed to get elected to 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 ...
, an interim legislature controlled by Beijing during the transition of sovereignty.


Since handover (1997–present)

The association helped the pro-Beijing parties such as 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 l ...
(DAB) in the first District Council elections in 1999 after the handover, Wong Hon-ching was also able to win a seat for the association in the Hennessy constituency in the Wan Chai District Council. It had also participated in the elections for the 11th National People's Congress, filling four candidates in 2007.


References


External links


Official website
{{Authority control Chinese nationalism Political parties in Hong Kong Political parties established in 1949 1949 establishments in Hong Kong