Out of the Shadow of 1997

Hong Kong's Legislative Council Elections have been riddled with difficulties. The first, partial elections introduced in 1991 were tainted by the traumatic memories of the events of June 4, 1989. The elections of 1995 bore the marks of the bitter Sino-British controversies over Hong Kong's political reforms. As a result of the derailed "through train," the first general election after the change of sovereignty to China in 1997 produced a two-year successor to the Provisional Legislative Council, which in turn was troubled by the Asian Financial Crisis. In light of this, the elections held in September 2000 offered Hong Kong a new lease on life. A full, four-year term legislature was thus elected under conditions that were relatively free from the issues that characterized 1997: uncertainties over the political future of Hong Kong, the attendant anxieties of the Hong Kong people, and the tortuous struggle over reform initiatives among the political powers.

This book draws on a wide range of local and overseas expertise to provide an in-depth study of the various aspects of the 2000 Legislative Council elections in Hong Kong. These aspects include: the basic conditions under which the elections took place, the role of labor, the District Councilors and media reporting, the decisive effect of the proportional representation system, factionalism in the Democratic Party, voting propensity, and the issues of identity, campaign finance, democratization, and the degree of political participation.