HONG KONG BACKGROUND BRIEF
HONG KONG: POLITICAL GROUPINGS
1. The political scene in Hong Kong has changed significantly in the last few months as a result of intense debate among the various political groups about the pace of political development before and after 1997. This has taken place in the context of the Basic Law and the composition of
LegCo in 1991 and in the approach to the elections in 1991. There are now three broad groupings representing a good cross section of public opinion, which are preparing to take part in these elections.
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2. After prolonged discussions amongst the Liberal groups
about forming a political party, the United Democrats of
Hong Kong (UDHK) was finally established. This was the
first group formally to declare itself a political party with the aim of fielding candidates in the 1991 Legislative
Council elections. There is a high degree of cross membership between the UDHK and the other Liberal groups. One third of the new party's 216 founding members are already members of other groups Meeting Point, the Hong Kong Affairs Society, the Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood (ADPL) and member organisations of the
Joint Committee on the Promotion of Democratic Government.
These groups still intend to maintain their separate identities. The ADPL, for example, intends to conduct its
affairs as before and support its own electoral candidates.
Meeting point is calling for a faster development of
democracy. The Hong Kong Affairs Society claims to
represent the middle classes in Hong Kong and is composed largely of professional and academics. It believes that Hong Kong must move swiftly towards self-government.
3. The UDHK is lead by Martin Lee an articulate liberal member of LegCo. Lee was also a member of the Hong Kong Alliance in support of Democratic Patriotic Movements in
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