The 1952 Hong Kong Urban Council election was held on 30 May 1952 for the two elected seats of the
Urban Council of Hong Kong. It was the first Urban Council election since the end of the
Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, the previous election having been held in 1940. Barrister
Brook Bernacchi of the
Reform Club of Hong Kong and
William Louey
William Sui-tak Louey (; 7 July 1909 – 9 December 1962) was a Hong Kong businessman and the founder and Chief Manager of the Kowloon Motor Bus Company.
Early life and career
Louey was born in Melbourne on 7 July 1909 to the son of a Chinese Au ...
, chief manager of
Kowloon Motor Bus won the two seats.
Overview
It was the first Urban Council election after the
Second World War. Prior to the election, the former Governor Sir
Mark Aitchison Young suggested a further constitutional reform by a new elected Municipal body replacing the Urban Council. The
Young Plan was strongly opposed by the conservatives and the then Governor Sir
Alexander Grantham. At the end, the Governor restored the election for two seats in the Urban Council which had existed before the war after the Young Plan was shelved.
The polling station was held at the
Murray Parade Ground. Some 3,368 men cast ballots, about one-third of the 9,700 registered voters, lower than expectations. The ''China Mail'' said it could "scarcely be regarded as a convincing sign that the Colony is desperately anxious to enjoy extended franchise."
Brook Bernacchi of the
Reform Club of Hong Kong and
William Louey
William Sui-tak Louey (; 7 July 1909 – 9 December 1962) was a Hong Kong businessman and the founder and Chief Manager of the Kowloon Motor Bus Company.
Early life and career
Louey was born in Melbourne on 7 July 1909 to the son of a Chinese Au ...
of the
Kowloon Residents' Association, chief manager of
Kowloon Motor Bus, were elected out of nine candidates. Pro-
Communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
barrister
Percy Chen, son of former
Foreign Minister of the Republic of China
This is a list of foreign ministers of the Republic of China (based in Taiwan since 1949), heading its Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Political Party:
Beiyang and Nationalist Governments
Post-1948 Constitution
See also
*Foreign relations ...
Eugene Chen, was on the ballot. He urged voters to treat the election as a referendum to press London for a further constitutional reform promised by Young. He ranked sixth of the nine candidates, getting 461 votes. The other Reform Club candidate
Woo Pak-chuen
Woo Pak-chuen (; 10 January 1910 – 30 April 2008) was a prominent politician and lawyer of Hong Kong. He was former Unofficial Member of the Executive and Legislative Council of Hong Kong. From 1972 to 1973, he was the Senior Unofficial Memb ...
lost the race by only 38 votes.
Results
Citations
References
* Pepper, Suzanne (2008). ''Keeping Democracy at Bay:Hong Kong and the Challenge of Chinese Political Reform''. Rowman & Littlefield.
{{Hong Kong elections
Hong Kong
1952 in Hong Kong
Urban
May 1952 events in Asia
1952 elections in the British Empire