The Democratic Party (民主黨) is a pro-democracy and liberal, political party in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. It was established on October 2, 1994. The party is currently headed by Chairman Lee Wing Tat, and has 611 ordinary members and 29 associate members as of June 2005. Elections are held in Hong Kong when certain offices in the government need to be filled. ... A political party is a political organization subscribing to a certain ideology or formed around very special issues with the aim to participate in power, usually by participating in elections. ... This is a list about liberalism and political parties around the world. ... The Elections and Parties Series Democracy Representative democracy History of democracy Referenda Liberal democracy Representation Voting Voting systems Ideology Elections Elections by country Elections by calender Electoral systems Politics Politics by country Political campaigns Political science Political philosophy Related topics Political parties Parties by country Parties by name Parties by... A Special Administrative Region (SAR) (Simplified Chinese: 特别行政区; Traditional Chinese: 特別行政區; pinyin: tèbié xíngzhèngqÅ«; Cantonese IPA: /tɐk6piːt6 hɐŋ4tsɪŋ3kʰɵy1/; Jyutping: dak6bit6 hang4zing3keoi1; Yale: dahkbiht hàhngjingkeÅ«i) is a political subdivision of the Peoples Republic of China. ... October 2nd is the 275th day (276th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 90 days remaining. ... 1994 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... The Honourable Lee Wing Tat (李永達 ) (born December 25, 1955) is currently the Chairman of the Democratic Party (DP). ... June is the sixth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of four with the length of 30 days. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and is the current year. ...

From the outset, the party supported the return of Hong Kong's sovereignty to China in nomine. Apart from that, the party's stance on Hong Kong's future development differs with most other parties'; that is, Hong Kong must develop more democratic institutions and preserve freedoms and human rights in order to achieve prosperity. Its stance is considered moderate compared to the radical political parties.

Over the years, the party has proposed comprehensive policies on various areas of governance through designated spokespersons. Their platform included:

• Amendment of the Basic Law to achieve more democracy and safeguard freedoms, while achieving closer economic cooperation with Mainland China.
• Protection of human rights.
• Maintain Hong Kong's status as an international finance and trade centre and improve its economic infrastructure (concrete details not given), as well as a more flexible way to control public expenditure.
• Better monitoring of public services and utilities (i.e. more accountability), and strengthened measures to protect the environment.
• More resources for education, with less vague policies.
• Reasonable (i.e. larger) share of economic achievements by the employee for the employee, and increased involvement by the Government to protect labour laws in accordance with social needs.
• Adopt measures to regulate property prices from fluctuation, and provide adequate public housing
• Increase spending on social welfare.

The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China serves as the constitutional document of Hong Kong. ... In this map of China, the light-coloured areas represent Mainland China, while yellow coloured area refers to Taiwan. ... Human rights are rights which some hold to be inalienable and belonging to all humans. ... The ecology of Hong Kong is mostly affected by the changes brought about by climatic changes. ... Public housing or social housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. ...

Historical developments

Democratic Party

Chairman:	Lee Wing Tat
Founded:	1994
Headquarters:	4/F Commercial Bldg. 776-778 Nathan Road Kowloon Hong Kong China This work is copyrighted. ... The Honourable Lee Wing Tat (李永達 ) (born December 25, 1955) is currently the Chairman of the Democratic Party (DP). ... 1994 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... Categories: Hong Kong geography stubs | Streets and roads in Hong Kong ... In modern day Hong Kong, Kowloon (九龍, Mandarin: Jiulong, lit. ...
District Councillors	87
Legislative Councillors	9
Political ideology:	liberal
Website:	Democratic Party

The Democratic Party was formed with the merger of the two largest pro-democracy political groups at the time, the United Democrats of Hong Kong which was formed in April 1990, and the Meeting Point which was formed in 1983. It was the first group to formally consider itself a political party in Hong Kong. In politics, the term liberal refers to: an adherent of the ideology of liberalism —an ideology espousing liberty. ... 1990 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1983 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Before the reunification of Hong Kong with Mainland China in July 1997, the DP was the most popular party - following the earlier success of the pro-democracy camp in the 1991 LegCo election, the party won 19 seats in the 1995 Legislative Council (LegCo) election to become the largest party in LegCo. 1997 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Legislative Council Building The Legislative Council of Hong Kong (立法會, abbreviated LegCo) is the legislature of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China. ...

The popularity of the party principally rose from its position towards the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, for which it had solemnly condemned the Chinese Government. In the run-up to 1997, with widespread sentiment of uncertainty then towards the future of Hong Kong under Chinese rule, the party supported the controversial package of political reform bought about by the last British colonial Hong Kong Governor, Chris Patten. The Unknown Rebel — This famous photo, taken by Associated Press photographer Jeff Widener, depicts a lone protester whose actions halted the progress of a column of advancing tanks for over half an hour. ... The Governor of Hong Kong was a British official who ruled Hong Kong during the colonial period between 1841 and 1997 and was ex officio Commander-in-Chief and Vice-Admiral of Hong Kong. ... Lord Patten of Barnes Christopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes, CH, PC (born 12 May 1944) is a prominent British Conservative politician. ...

The party's stance conflicted with the PRC government's, which, for a while, earned the party more popularity and recognition both locally and overseas. The founder and then party chairman, Mr. Martin Lee Chu-ming, became well-known internationally in the run-up to reunification as a human rights and democracy fighter, and has won a number of international human rights awards. Alternative meanings: Martin Lee (singer), Martin Lee (drummer) Martin Lee campaigning during the 2004 Legislative Council elections The Honourable Martin Lee Chu-ming QC SC JP (李柱銘) (born June 8, 1938) is the founding chairman (1994-2002) of the Democratic Party (DP), a pro-democracy political party in Hong Kong. ...

The party refused to join the Provisional Legislative Council established in December 1996 in protest of its formation. As the body became the official legislature of Hong Kong SAR after reunification, the party lost all its seats in the legislature, until the first LegCo election of the HKSAR on 24 May 1998. Legislative Council Building The Legislative Council of Hong Kong (立法會, abbreviated LegCo) is the legislature of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China. ... 1996 is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... May 24 is the 144th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (145th in leap years). ... 1998 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...

Under the proportional representation system which the HKSAR Government considered a better system in representing the spectrum of views of the community, the party secured 12 out of 60 seats in the first LegCo election in 1998, including 9 out of 20 seats from geographical constituencies where the party got 43% of the votes.

During this period, the party suffered from a decline in popularity. Some analysis attributed this to the increased concerns on economic issues as opposed to political ones, and the unpopular position of the party in issues such as the Right of Abode issue in 1999. In the second LegCo election two years later in 2000, the vote share of the party from geographical constituencies dropped to 35%, and the party secured 9 out of the 24 directly elected seats. Its total number of seats in LegCo remained at 12. Background Article 24(2)(3) of the Basic Law of Hong Kong stipulates that Persons of Chinese nationality born outside Hong Kong of those residents listed in categories (1) and (2) (i. ... 1999 is a common year starting on Friday of the Common Era, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... This article is about the year 2000. ...

Meanwhile, the party was plagued with internal fragmentation, further affecting its image. LegCo member Mr. Chan Wai-yip quit the party in December 2001 following the succession of former Chairman Martin Lee by Yeung Sum, leaving the party with 11 seats in the LegCo. In April 2002, some members in the "Young Turks" camp within the party left and joined a more politically radical party, The Frontier. 2001: A Space Odyssey 2001 2001 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Frontier (前綫) is a pro-democracy political group in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China. ...

The cause of such factionalism arose from the political and economic orientations of the party platform. On the political side, some "Young Turks" of the party considered that the party leaders were too eager to establish a "dialogue" with the Beijing and the HKSAR Government, and not confrontational enough vis-a-vis the authorities. Some also considered the party too "middle-class"-oriented and distant from the grass-roots on labour issues, such as proposed legislation on a minimum wage (which the party did not support). Beijing   listen? (Chinese: 北京; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Pei-ching; Postal System Pinyin: Peking) is the capital city of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ...

2002 and 2003 saw a rebound in the popularity of democratic camp, largely due to the Article 23 issue, and the low popularity of the HKSAR Government headed by Mr. Tung Chee Hwa. The party benefited from its opposition standpoint, and achieved an impressive victory in the 2003 District Council election, claiming 92 seats compared with 86 in the last election in 1999. 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Hong Kong Basic Law Article 23 is the basis (parent statute) of a security law proposed by the Hong Kong Government. ... Tung Chee Hwa Tung Chee Hwa (Traditional Chinese: 董建華; Simplified Chinese: 董建华; Cantonese IPA: ; Jyutping: dung2 gin3 wa4; Mandarin Pinyin: Dǒng Jiànhuá) (born July 7, 1937, or the 29th day of the 5th month in the Chinese calendar) was the first elected Chief Executive (July 1, 1997–March 12, 2005... The District Councils (區議會 and formerly District Boards) are district organizations in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). ...

In 2004, the popularity of other groups and individuals in the pro-democratic camp (such as members of the Article 45 Concern Group and Albert Cheng), together with the emergence of scandals of two of the party's candidates in the LegCo election this year, began to wane. As a result, the Democratic Party only won 12 seats overall, becoming the third largest party in LegCo behind the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong and the Liberal Party. The tactics used by the DP to secure votes in the geographical constituency of Hong Kong Island for themselves ironically led to the defeat of another democratic camp candidate, Cyd Ho, causing further dissatisfaction among democratic camp supporters within the party. 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Basic Law Article 45 Concern Group (《基本法》四十五條關注組) is a pro-democracy political group in the Hong Kong Peoples Republic of China. ... Albert Cheng Jing Han (鄭經翰), nicknamed Tai-Pan (大班) (born July 3, 1946), is currently a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Elections for the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo) were held on September 12, 2004. ... Logo The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB) (民主建港聯盟, 民建聯) is the largest pro-government political party in Hong Kong SAR of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Liberal Party (自由黨) is a political party in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Peoples Republic of China. ... Hong Kong Island (香港島, colloquially the Island side) is the island where the colonial settlement of the Hong Kong territory, Victoria City, was founded. ... Cyd Sau Lan HO (何秀蘭, 何秀兰, Cantonese IPA: Hɔ4 Sɐʊ3 Lɑn4, Jyutping: Ho4 Sau3 Laan4, Bopomofo: ㄏㄜˊㄒㄧㄡˋㄌㄢˊ, Wade-Giles: Ho2 Hsiu4 Lan2, Pinyin: Hé Xiùlán) (born 1954) She was a full-time legislative councillor of Hong Kongs Legislative Council (LegCo), elected from the geographical constituency of Hong...

List of chairmen:

1. Martin Lee (1994-2002)
2. Yeung Sum (2002-2004)
3. Lee Wing Tat (2004-)

Martin Lee campaigning during the 2004 Legislative Council elections The Honourable Martin Lee Chu-ming QC SC JP (李柱銘) (born June 8, 1938) is the founding chairman (1994-2002) of the Democratic Party (DP), a pro-democracy political party in Hong Kong. ... 1994 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Dr the Honourable Yeung Sum (楊森) (born November 22, 1947) is the second Chairman (2002-2004) of the Democratic Party (DP), a pro-democracy political party in Hong Kong. ... 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Honourable Lee Wing Tat (李永達 ) (born December 25, 1955) is currently the Chairman of the Democratic Party (DP). ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

• Liberalism
• Contributions to liberal theory
• Liberalism worldwide
• List of liberal parties
• Liberal democracy

Note: This entry discusses liberalism as a world wide ideology, not its manifestations in any specific country. ... This is an (partial) overview of individuals that contributed to the development of liberal theory on a worldwide scale and therefore are strongly associated with the liberal tradition and instrumental in the exposition of political liberalism as a philosophy. ... This article links to articles on liberalism in diverse countries around the world. ... This is an overview of parties that adhere more or less (explicitly) to the ideas of political liberalism and is therefore a list of liberal parties around the world. ... Liberal democracy is a form of representative democracy where elected representatives that hold the decision power are moderated by a constitution that emphasizes protecting individual liberties and the rights of minorities in society (also called constitutional liberalism), such as freedom of speech and assembly, freedom of religion, the right to...

External link

• Official website (English version)