NDI delegation visits Hong Kong in November 2007 and Promise of Democratization Report 12

From 12 – 21 November 2007 the National Democratic Institute (NDI) held meetings in Hong Kong to assess the environment leading up to and around the November 18 District Council Elections and the December 2 Legislative Council by-election, and to gauge the prospects for constitutional reform to determine a timetable for implementing universal suffrage.

NDI’s team included:

·         Thomas Barry, NDI Deputy Regional Director for Asia programs;

·         Gordon Davis, NDI Resident Country Director for China programs;

·         Anne Tsai Bennett, NDI Senior Program Officer for Asia;

·         Belinda Winterbourne, NDI Program Officer for Hong Kong;

·         Tyler Stilley, NDI Senior Program Assistant for Asia;

·         Stephen Tong, NDI Senior Program Assistant for Hong Kong.

The team met with current and former government officials, political party leaders and Legislators, District Councilors, nongovernmental organization representatives, academics, journalists, diplomats and others.

Promise of Democratization Report 12

The findings of this delegation were documented in:

·         The Promise of Democratization in Hong Kong: The 2007 District Council Elections, Legislative Council By-election, and Prospects for Constitutional Reform. NDI Hong Kong Report #12. December 27, 2007¹.

Belinda Winterbourne and Anne Tsai Bennett were the principal authors of this report, to which each of the other team members also contributed. 

Peter Manikas, NDI’s Regional Director of Asia Programs, made editorial contributions.

Promise of Democratization Report 12 cover

Key findings of the report

Article 23 protests

·         A catalyst for democratization was the 1 July 2003 public demonstration which brought over half a million people onto the streets (out of a population of 6.8 million) to support democracy and to oppose the passage of Article 23, a piece of unpopular national security legislation. The protest was compelling evidence of Hong Kong citizens’ desire for democracy (Page 1).

·         The Institute viewed the 2003 demonstrations that ended the dispute over proposed legislation to implement Article 23 of the Basic Law as proof of vibrant democratic instincts among the Hong Kong populace.

·         The Article 23 controversy resulted in over half a million people pouring out onto the streets (out of a population of 6.8 million) in opposition to proposed legislation they viewed as interfering with their freedom of expression (Page 3).

The Campaign – Getting Out the Vote

NDI conducted a study with the assistance of the Hong Kong Transition Project, in which a number of students observed the campaigns of five District Councilor candidates (four incumbents and one challenger).

The study afforded the opportunity to verify, on the ground, several hypotheses concerning grass-roots party organization, the use of resources, and other factors (Page 7).

Further details of this initiative were given at Appendix 1 of the report:

Appendix I - 2007 District Council Election Case Studies: Student Observations

The Hong Kong Transition Project recruited six student volunteers who conducted an observation of the campaigns of six District Council candidates, focused on qualitative aspects of their campaigns.

The study was conducted to help better understand the role of Hong Kong’s political parties in supporting candidates during election time, including campaign strategies as well as general campaigning techniques.

Prior to observations, the students were briefed on their role as observers and the need to refrain from participating in any electioneering activities to ensure their neutrality.

The observations took place between October 1, 2007 and November 18, 2007.

Students were asked to observe the activities of the candidate and their aides, including types of campaign literature distributed, the reaction of passers-by, what other campaigning techniques are employed, the tactics employed by the opponents.

The student volunteers observed the following six candidates:

·         Tony Chan Independent Incumbent Eastern District,

·         Ken Chow Liberal Party Incumbent Yuen Long District,

·         Gary Fan Democratic Party Incumbent Sai Kung District,

·         Patrick Leung Civic Party Incumbent Eastern District,

·         Jimmy Wong Democratic Party Incumbent Tai Po District,

·         Wendy Wong Civic Party New Candidate Tuen Mun District.

Each student provided a synopsis of their observations by the students. The full reports are being analyzed and will provide qualitative input to a report being prepared by the Hong Kong Transition Project (Page 17).

Reference

¹The Promise of Democratization in Hong Kong: The 2007 District Council Elections, Legislative Council By-election, and Prospects for Constitutional Reform. NDI Hong Kong Report #12. December 27, 2007  Link to all Promise of Democratization Reports