NED Programs in Hong Kong

The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) works in all corners of the globe, supporting democracy activists on six continents and in 90 countries¹. It acts as a conduit to disperse US Government funds for ‘promoting democracy’, allocated by Congress to its four core grantees:

1. The Free Trade Union Institute, representing the labor sector,

2. The Center for International Private Enterprise, representing the business sector,

3. The National Democratic Institute (NDI), representing the Democratic Party,

4. The National Republican Institute (IRI), representing the Republican Party².

Because Hong Kong is a city in China, Hong Kong has been and continues to be a major focus of NED attention.

NED first engagement in Hong Kong

The NED first engaged with Hong Kong in 1994, when , the Republican Party sent an IRI team of four lawyers, led by Dick Thornburgh to study the prospects for the rule of law in Hong Kong in view of the impending 1997 reversion of Hong Kong to the People’s Republic of China³ (Page 342). This was known as the Hong Kong Rule of Law Mission.

US Democratic Party targets Hong Kong

The Democratic Party sent their first NDI survey mission to Hong Kong in March 1997, prior to Hong Kong’s return to Chinese sovereignty in July 1997, to assess the political environment and identify possibilities for NDI programming in the territory⁴.

Between 1997 and 2012 fourteen NDI survey missions visited Hong Kong to further identify opportunities for NDI programming. The findings of these missions were documented in the Promise of Democratization Report series.

Since 1994, the NED has allocated considerable funds to support activities in Hong Kong, including the following programs:

1. Survey Missions.

2. Eliminate Article 23.

3. Monitoring the Development of an Election Framework.

4. Working with Local Elected Officials.

5. The Promise of Democratization in Hong Kong report series.

6. Public Opinion Polls.

7. Youth Public Participation.

8. Women's Political Participation.

The US Congress is regularly briefed on the progress of these programs through Congressional Research Reports, as well as by briefings from the NDI operatives in charge of these programs.

This blog will report on these programs.

References

¹Where NED works.  Where NED works

²Oversight of the National Endowment for Democracy : hearings before the Subcommittee on International Operations of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, Ninety-ninth Congress, second session, May 14 and 20, June 11, 1986. Congressional Oversight Hearings Report

³Thornburgh . D. Where the Evidence Leads: An Autobiography, Dick Thornburgh.

University of Pittsburgh Press, 12 Sep 2003. 

⁴The promise of democratization in Hong Kong. Survey Report. NDI Pre-election report. NDI Hong Kong Report #1. June 10, 1997 All Promise of Democratization reports available here