Democratic Development in Hong Kong - 1980s

1980s

Although full universal suffrage was never granted by the British to its colony before the handover in 1997, some democratisation began in 1984. Following the historic meeting in 1979 between Deng Xiaoping and then governor Murray MacLehose, a Green paper on development of representative government was issued by the colonial government in July 1984. It included proposals aimed at developing a system of more localised government, which included the introduction of indirect elections to the Legco the following year. Declaring that 'full weight be given to representation of the economic and professional sectors essential to future confidence and prosperity of Hong Kong', the government proposed 12 legislators elected by nine trade-based seats, or 'functional bodies' – commercial, industrial, financial, labour, social services, education, legal, medical and engineering – the following year. Martin Lee and Szeto Wah were among those elected in 1985.

Democracy activists – pressure groups, religious groups and community organisations – attended a mass rally at Ko Shan Theatre in Hung Hom in November 1986. The rally is a milestone in Hong Kong's fledgling pro-democracy movement. One of the participating groups, calling themselves the 'group of 190', demanded direct elections for Legco in 1988, and a faster pace of democratic development after the handover.

In 1987, many surveys indicated that there was more than 60% popular support for direct elections. The government issued another green paper in 1987 proposing direct LegCo elections for 1988. However, the proposal was ruled out after a government study concluded people were 'sharply divided' over its introduction that year. The government was criticised for manipulating the views of some Beijing-friendly groups to ensure that no clear mandate for direct elections in 1988 emerged. Eventually the government decided to introduce 18 directly elected seats to the legislature in 1991.