Opposition to the Guangzhou-Hong Kong XRL11

Five Constituencies Referendum Legislative Councillor Resign

LEUNG Chun-ying attended Legislative Council Q and A session 4

The Fourth Legislative Council of Hong Kong was the fourth meeting of the legislative branch of the

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 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 ...

Government. The membership of the LegCo is based on the 2008 election. The term of the session is from 1 October 2008 to 30 September 2012, during the second half of the Donald Tsang's administration and first two months of the Leung Chun-ying's term in office. The meeting place was moved from the Legislative Council Building to the new built

Legislative Council Complex The Legislative Council Complex (LegCo Complex) is the headquarters of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. The complex is located at 1 Legislative Council Road, Central, Hong Kong. Construction of the LegCo Complex commenced in 2008 and was ...

in 2011. The

Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress 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 ...

remained the largest party with 10 seats. Notable newcomers to the Legislative Council included

Regina Ip Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee (; ' Lau; born 24 August 1950) is a Chinese politician. She is currently the Convenor of the Executive Council (ExCo) and a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo), as well as the founder and current chair ...

Priscilla Leung Priscilla Leung Mei-fun (; born 18 November 1960, Hong Kong) is a barrister and Hong Kong Legislative Councillor, representing the Election Committee since 2022. She previously represented the Kowloon West constituency from 2008 to 2021. Sh ...

Wong Yuk-man Raymond Wong Yuk-man (; born 1 October 1951) is a Hong Kong communist, pro-china, author, current affairs commentator and radio host. He is a former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo), representing the geographical constitue ...

Tanya Chan Tanya Chan (; born 14 September 1971) is a Hong Kong politician who served as a Legislative Councillor representing Hong Kong Island from 2008 to 2012, and again from 2016 to 2020. She is a founding member of the Civic Party. Chan is sometimes kn ...

, and

Paul Tse Paul Tse Wai-chun, JP (, born 1959) is a Hong Kong solicitor, who claims himself as the "Superman of Law". He also owns a small travel agency and was elected to the Legislative Council of Hong Kong for the tourism functional constituency in ...

Major events

* 8 October 2008: The DAB member

Jasper Tsang Yok-sing Jasper Tsang Yok-sing ( zh, t=曾鈺成; born 17 May 1947) is a Hong Kong politician. He is the founding member of the largest pro-Beijing party the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) from 1992 to 2003 and ...

who was suggested also an underground member of the

Communist Party of China The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...

was elected President of the Legislative Council, became the first partisan President. * 15 October 2008: Annual policy address of the Chief Executive Donald Tsang. During the address, the

League of Social Democrats The League of Social Democrats (LSD) is a social democratic party in Hong Kong. Chaired by Chan Po-ying, wife of Leung Kwok-hung, it positions itself as the radical wing of the pro-democracy camp and stresses on "street actions" and "parliame ...

legislator

hurled a banana in the direction of Donald Tsang. The three LSD members were ejected from the chamber for the act. * 18 December 2009 – 16 January 2010: Pro-democracy legislators filibustered against the financing for the constructions of the

Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong Express Rail Link Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL), also known as “Guangshengang XRL” (officially Beijing–Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong high-speed railway, Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong section), is a high-speed railway line t ...

by raising many questions on very specific issues, delaying the passing of the bill from 18 December 2009 to 16 January 2010. On the evenings the meetings were held, the Legislative Council Building was surrounded by thousands of anti-high-speed rail protesters. * 26 January 2010 – 16 May 2010: The legislators from 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 ...

(

Alan Leong Alan Leong Kah-kit (; born 22 February 1958), SC is a former member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, representing the Kowloon East geographical constituency, and the sitting-Chairman of the Civic Party. He was also vice-chairperson of th ...

and

) and

(

Albert Chan Albert Chan Wai-yip (born 3 March 1955, Hong Kong) is a former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong representing the New Territories West constituency. He has served as a legislator from 1991 to 2016 except for the periods 1997– ...

and

Leung Kwok-hung Leung Kwok-hung ( zh, t=梁國雄; born 27 March 1956), also known by his nickname "Long Hair" (), is a Hong Kong politician and social activist. He was a member of the Legislative Council, representing the New Territories East. A Trotskyi ...

) resigned and launched a direct by-election for all five constituencies in which they called a ''de facto'' referendum on 16 May 2010. * 23—25 June 2010: The revised 2012 electoral reform package was passed with

absolute majority A supermajority, supra-majority, qualified majority, or special majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of more than one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority r ...

supported by 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 the LegCo after hours of hot debates. The resolution for the chief executive in 2012 from 800 to 1,200 members, won endorsement at 2.20 pm on 24 June by the legislature by 46 votes to 13. Pan-democrats who supported the proposals included eight from the Democratic Party, Joseph Lee Kok-long and

Frederick Fung Frederick Fung Kin-kee, SBS, JP (; born 17 March 1953) is a former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong from 1991 to 1997 and from 2000 to 2016 and the former chairman of the pro-democracy Hong Kong Association for Democracy and Pe ...

of the ADPL.Cheung, Gary; Wong, Albert & Fung, Fanny (25 Jun 2010) "Cheers and jeers for political reform vote", ''South China Morning Post'' James To, who had earlier expressed misgivings about giving his support, voted in favour. The 'Amendment to method for forming the Hong Kong Legislative Council' was approved by LegCo at 13:30 on 25 June, with 46 votes in favour and 12 against. 'Longhair' Leung Kwok-hung was ejected from the chamber just prior to the vote. Thousands of protestors from both for and against the proposal gathered outside of the LegCo building. * 2—17 May 2012:

and

of People Power submitted 1306 amendments altogether to the

Legislative Council (Amendment) Bill 2012 The Legislative Council (Amendment) Ordinance 2012 is an ordinance of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. It amends the Legislative Council Ordinance to disqualify a resigned member of the Legislative Council from participating in a subsequen ...

, by which the government attempted to forbid resigning lawmakers from participating in by-elections.

of the

and

Andrew Cheng Andrew Cheng Kar-foo () (born 28 April 1960 in Hong Kong) was a Hong Kong politician and solicitor. He is a former Democratic Party member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong representing the New Territories East geographical constituency. ...

also participated in the filibustering.

Miriam Lau __NOTOC__ Miriam Lau Kin-yee (, former married name Miriam Lau Lau Kin-yee; born 27 April 1947) was a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (Legco), representing the transport industry functional constituency. Lau was the acting-ch ...

of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

carried out a 30-hour

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...

to voice her opposition against such act of

obstructionism Obstructionism is the practice of deliberately delaying or preventing a process or change, especially in politics. As workplace aggression An obstructionist causes problems. Neuman and Baron (1998) identify obstructionism as one of the three dim ...

and waste of public coffers. The legislative council carried on multiple overnight debates on the amendments with the support of the pro-Establishment camp. On morning of 17 May 2012,

Jasper Tsang Jasper Tsang Yok-sing ( zh, t=曾鈺成; born 17 May 1947) is a Hong Kong politician. He is the founding member of the largest pro-Beijing party the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) from 1992 to 2003 and ...

, President of the Legco adopt Article 92 of the Standing Order, which allows the president follow foreign parliament rules for unregulated behaviours to terminate the debate. In the end, all amendments were defeated and the Bill was passed.

Major legislation

Enacted

* 16 December 2009: Domestic Violence (Amendment) Bill 2009 * 17 July 2010: Minimum Wage Bill * 3 March 2011: Chief Executive Election (Amendment) Bill 2010 * 5 March 2011: Legislative Council (Amendment) Bill 2010 * 1 June 2012:

Proposed

* Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2011

Chief Executive Election and Legislative Council (Amendment) Bill 2010

Following the reform plan passed in June, the LegCo passed the Chief Executive (Amendment) Bill on 3 March 2011 and Legislative Council (Amendment) Bill on 5 March with the Democratic Party voted for the bill. The membership of the

Election Committee The Election Committee is a Hong Kong electoral college, the function of which is to select the Chief Executive (CE) and, since 2021, to elect 40 of the 90 members of the Legislative Council. Established by Annex I of the Basic Law of Ho ...

to return the Chief Executive increased from 800 to 1,200, while the number of seats in the LegCo rose by 10 to 70. Five of the new seats, known as 'super lawmakers', would be in the district councils functional constituency, where 3.2 million people would be eligible to vote.

Legislative Council (Amendment) Bill 2012

The

2010 by-election 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...

launched by the pro-democracy legislators was strongly criticised by the Beijing government. The government tried to plug the "loophole" by passing the vacancies on to runners-up in the previous election, which was strongly opposed by the legal experts as unconstitutional The pro-democracy camp was strongly opposed to the bill, as it was seen as depriving citizens of their political rights. At last, the government modified the bill to bar the resigning legislator from running again for six months. People Power legislators started the filibuster against it but the bill was passed after President Tsang Yok-sing halted the debate.

Composition

Note: ''Italic'' represents organisations that still function but become under another affiliation.

Graphical representation of the Legislative Council

4th Legislative Council of Hong Kong seat composition by party

Leadership

List of members

The following table is a list of LegCo members elected on 7 September 2008 in the order of precedence. Members who did not serve throughout the term are ''italicised''. New members elected since the general election are noted at the bottom of the page. Key to changes since legislative election: :^a = change in party allegiance :^b = by-election :^c = other change

By-election

* 16 May 2010,

, and

from the

and

from the

re-elected to the LegCo after their resignation to call for a ''de facto'' referendum on

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 stan ...

Other changes

2008

Lau Wong-fat Lau Wong-fat, GBM, GBS, OBE, JP (; 15 October 1936 – 23 July 2017) was a Hong Kong businessman and politician. He had been the long-time chairman of the Rural Council, the most powerful organ representing the interests of the New Territ ...

(

Heung Yee Kuk The Heung Yee Kuk, officially the Heung Yee Kuk N.T., is a statutory advisory body representing establishment interests in the New Territories, Hong Kong. The council is a powerful organisation comprising heads of rural committees which repre ...

Jeffrey Lam Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung, GBS, JP (; born 23 October 1951 in Hong Kong) is a non-official member of the Executive Council (Exco) and member of the Legislative Council (Legco), representing the Commercial (First) functional constituency. He is ...

(

Commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

Andrew Leung Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen (; born 24 February 1951) is a Hong Kong politician who is the current President of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (Legco), representing the Industrial (First) functional constituency. From October 2012 to October ...

(

Industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

) and

Sophie Leung Sophie Leung Lau Yau-fun, Officer of the Order of the British Empire, OBE, Gold Bauhinia Star, GBS, Justice of the Peace, JP (; born 9 October 1945, Macau) is a resident of the Hong Kong SAR, Mrs. Sophie Leung had been a Member of the Legislative ...

( Textiles and Garment) – Liberal Party members withdrawn on 8 October 2008, and later on founded a new group called

Economic Synergy Economic Synergy (also known as 3L) is a political party in Hong Kong, composed of three members of the Legislative Council, Andrew Leung, Jeffrey Lam and Lau Wong-fat. History Formerly members of the Liberal Party, Jeffrey Lam, Andrew Leung a ...

in 2009. *

(

Kowloon West Kowloon West is the western part of Kowloon, covering the Yau Tsim Mong and Sham Shui Po District, with Kowloon City District occasionally included. History The boundary of Kowloon West is not strictly defined and hence varies. While traditio ...

) – joined the

Professional Forum Professional Forum (), formerly known as the Breakfast Group () and The Alliance (), was a loose political group of the independent politicians in the Legislative Council in Hong Kong. In October 2012, the group formed the Business and Professiona ...

which was formed on 8 October 2008 by the members of the Alliance. *

Emily Lau Emily may refer to: * Emily (given name), including a list of people with the name Music * "Emily" (1964 song), title song by Johnny Mandel and Johnny Mercer to the film ''The Americanization of Emily'' * "Emily" (Dave Koz song), a 1990 song ...

( New Territories East) – Convenor of the Frontier became a member of the Democratic Party when the groups merged on 23 November 2008.

2010

( New Territories East) – withdrawn from the Democratic Party to oppose the Party's decision of backing the controversial electoral reform proposals on 23 June 2010.

2011

( Hong Kong Island) – formed the New People's Party and became the chairman on 9 January 2011. *

(

) and

(

New Territories West New Territories West (NTW) is the western part of Hong Kong's New Territories, covering Yuen Long, Tuen Mun, Tsuen Wan, Kwai Tsing and the Islands District. History Settlements in the area, except the Islands District, have been connected by the ...

) – former chairman and one of the figureheads of the League of Social Democrats (LSD) left the Party on 23 January 2011 in disarray which left the LSD only one seat in the LegCo. On the same day, Wong and Chan formed a new group called People Power with the former supporters of the LSD. *

Lee Cheuk-yan Lee Cheuk-yan (; born 12 February 1957 in Shanghai) is a Hong Kong politician and social activist. He was a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong from 1995 to 2016, when he lost his seat. He represented the Kowloon West and the Manufac ...

(

Cyd Ho Cyd Ho Sau-lan () is a former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (Legco) for the Hong Kong Island constituency. She is a founding member of the Labour Party, since December 2011, and currently holds the position of vice-chairwoma ...

( Hong Kong Island) and Cheung Kwok-che (

Social Welfare Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...

) – respectively represented the Confederation of Trade Unions, Civic Act-up, and Social Worker's General Union, founded the Labour Party on 18 December 2011.

2012

* Paul Chan (

Accountancy Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been called the "langua ...

) – resigned on 27 July 2012 to take up principal official post as the

Secretary for Development The Secretary for Development of the Hong Kong Government is responsible for planning, land development and public works related development policy in Hong Kong. The position was created in 2007 to replace portions of the previous portfolios ...

. No by-election was held to fill his vacant seat as there was a pending general election.

Committees

* Finance Committee— Chair:

** Establishment Subcommittee— Chair: Wong Yung-kan (2008—10),

Margaret Ng Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee (; born 25 January 1948) is a politician, barrister, writer and columnist in Hong Kong. She was a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong from 1995 to 2012. Biography Before entering the legal profession, Margaret ...

(2010—12) ** Public Works Subcommittee— Chair: Raymond Ho * Public Accounts Committee— Chair:

Philip Wong Philip Wong Yu-hong, GBS (; 23 December 1938 – 6 June 2021) was a politician in Hong Kong who served as a member of the legislative council ( Functional constituencies, Commercial econd, a deputy to the National People's Congress and vice ...

* Committee on Members' Interests— Chair:

* House Committee— Chair:

** Parliamentary Liaison Subcommittee— Chair: Abraham Razack * Committee on Rules of Procedure— Chair:

Tam Yiu-chung Tam Yiu-chung, GBM, JP (; born 15 December 1949) is a pro-Beijing politician in Hong Kong. He is a current member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC), former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (Leg ...

Panels

* Panel on Administration of Justice and Legal Services— Chair:

* Panel on Commerce and Industry— Chair:

Vincent Fang Kang Vincent Fang Kang, GBS, JP (born 7 May 1943 in Shanghai) is the leader of the Liberal Party of Hong Kong. He is a Hong Kong entrepreneur in the garment industry and a former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, representing the ...

(2008—10), Wong Ting-kwong (2010—12) * Panel on Constitutional Affairs— Chair:

* Panel on Development— Chair:

(2008—10), Patrick Lau (2010—12) * Panel on Economic Development— Chair:

* Panel on Education— Chair:

(2008—10),

Starry Lee Starry Lee Wai-king, SBS, JP (, born 13 March 1974 in British Hong Kong) is a Hong Kong politician, chairperson of the largest pro-establishment Beijing-loyalist party, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (D ...

(2010—12) * Panel on Environmental Affairs— Chair:

Audrey Eu Audrey Eu Yuet-mee is a former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong and was founding leader of the Civic Party. She was a member of the Executive Committee of the Civic Party, focusing on party development. In politics, Eu has fo ...

(2008—10),

Gary Chan Gary Chan Hak-kan, BBS, JP (born 24 April 1976) is a current member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. He represents the New Territories North East constituency and is a member of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progre ...

(2010—12) * Panel on Financial Affairs— Chair:

Chan Kam-lam Chan Kam-lam, GBS, JP (; born 22 January 1949) is a former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong representing the Kowloon East constituency. He is also a core member of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hon ...

* Panel on Food Safety and Environmental Hygiene— Chair:

Fred Li Fred Li Wah-ming ( Chinese: 李華明; born 25 April 1955, Hong Kong) is a former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong representing the constituency of Kowloon East. He was a member of the Kwun Tong District Council for Tsui Ping ...

(2008—10),

Tommy Cheung Tommy Cheung Yu-yan, GBS, JP (, born 30 September 1949 in Hong Kong) is a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo), representing the Catering functional constituencies seats. He is a non-official member of the Executive Counc ...

(2010—12) * Panel on Health Services— Chair: Joseph Lee (2008—10), Leung Ka-lau (2010—12) * Panel on Home Affairs— Chair:

Ip Kwok-him Ip Kwok-him, GBM, GBS, JP (; born 8 November 1951) is a former unofficial member of the Executive Council of Hong Kong, served between 2016 and 2022. He is also former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong for the District Council ...

* Panel on Housing— Chair:

Wong Kwok-hing Wong Kwok-hing BBS MH (, Vietnamese : ''Vương Quốc Hưng'' ; born 29 March 1949, Haiphong, North Vietnam) is a Hong Kong trade unionist and a former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, representing the New Territories West co ...

(2008—10),

Lee Wing-tat Lee Wing-tat (; born 25 December 1955) is a former Member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo), returned by direct election as representative of the New Territories West constituency. He was the former third Chairman of the Democr ...

(2010—12) * Panel on Information Technology and Broadcasting— Chair:

(2008—09), Samson Tam (2008—10),

(2010—12) * Panel on Manpower— Chair:

Li Fung-ying Li Fung-ying () (born 2 December 1950 in Hong Kong) is a trades unionist in Hong Kong. She is the third vice-chairperson of the Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions, the third largest trade union in Hong Kong. Until 2012, she was a ...

(2008—10),

(2010—12) * Panel on Public Service— Chair:

(2008—10),

(2010—12) * Panel on Security— Chair:

Lau Kong-wah Lau or LAU may refer to: People * Lau (surname) * Liu (劉/刘), a common Chinese family name transliterated Lau in Cantonese and Hokkien * Lau clan, one of the Saraswat Brahmin clans of Punjab * LAU (musician): Laura Fares Places * Lebanes ...

(2008—10),

James To James To Kun-sun (; ; born 11 March 1963) is a Hong Kong lawyer and Democratic Party politician. From 1991 to 2020, To was a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, representing the District Council (Second) constituency. In his fin ...

(2010—12) * Panel on Transport— Chair:

Cheung Hok-ming Cheung Hok-ming (; born 3 July 1952, in Lam Tsuen, Tai Po, Hong Kong) is a former councillor in the Legislative Council of Hong Kong representing the New Territories West constituency. A Hakka, he is also the chairman of Tai Po District Council an ...

(2008—10),

(2010—12) * Panel on Welfare Services— Chair:

(2008—09),

Wong Sing-chi Nelson Wong Sing-chi (born 11 October 1957) is a Hong Kong politician and social worker. He had been member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong between 2000–04 and 2008–12. He was the founding member of the Democratic Party before he ...

(2009—10), Cheung Kwok-che (2010—12)

References

{{Legislative Councils of Hong Kong Terms of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong 2008 in Hong Kong 2009 in Hong Kong 2010 in Hong Kong 2011 in Hong Kong 2012 in Hong Kong 2008 establishments in Hong Kong 2010s disestablishments in Hong Kong

Major events

Major legislation

Enacted

Proposed

Chief Executive Election and Legislative Council (Amendment) Bill 2010

Legislative Council (Amendment) Bill 2012

Composition

Graphical representation of the Legislative Council

Leadership

List of members

By-election

Other changes

2008

2010

2011

2012

Committees

Panels

See also

References