TNAG-2619-FCO40-3810-Official-visits-from-the-UK-to-Hong-Kong-1992 — Page 35

side, with the aim of ensuring as much continuity as

possible. If the Council is to run its full 4-year term through 1997 to 1999, it will need to be consistent with the

Basic Law. Before we talk to the Chinese Mr Patten will

want to discuss these matters widely in Hong Kong and then put his advice to Ministers.

Political Parties

13.

Indigenous political parties are relatively recent to Hong Kong; they came into being in order to contest the first direct elections to the Legislative Council (LegCo) in September 1991. Before that, political groups operated

informally at local level or to lobby on specific issues.

14. The largest, and most successful party is the United

Democrats of Hong Kong (UDHK), the so-called liberals. They

won 45% of the vote and 12 of the 18 directly-elected seats,

with 4 of the rest going to other "liberal" candidates.

Business interests were represented by the Liberal

Democratic Federation (LDF), which won 5% of the vote and no

seats. Pro-China groups won just under 8% of the vote and

no seats. The remaining 2 seats (17.5% of the vote) went to independent candidates.

15.

After the 1991 elections business interests in LegCo

represented by appointed and functional constituency

members, formed a group called the Co-operative Resources

Centre (CRC), led by Mr Allen Lee. The CRC intends to turn itself into a political party shortly in order to prepare

for the 1995 LegCo elections.

16.

Other political parties include the pro-Peking Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB), formed in May 1992; the smaller liberal parties: Meeting Point and Association for Democracy and Peoples' Livelihood (ADPL), which have 3 LegCo seats between them; and the Hong

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