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===Lam and Tsang entry into the race===
===Lam and Tsang entry into the race===
On 12 January 2017, Carrie Lam resigned from her Chief Secretary post. hours afterward, she announced her plan to enter the Chief Executive election if her resignation was approved.<ref name="Lamresign">{{cite news|title=Carrie Lam declares bid to lead Hong Kong|date=12 January 2017|newspaper=South China Morning Post|url=http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2061552/carrie-lam-resigns-hong-kongs-no-2-official-ahead-expected?spm=0.0.0.0.yqPad3}}</ref> On 16 January, the two Secretaries' resignations were approved by the central government, despite Tsang handed in his resignation on 12 December, while Lam only four days earlier on 12 January. Lam formally declared her candidacy on the same day, promising good governance with greater transparency and "new blood" in her cabinet.<ref name="Lamannounces"/> The press conference was hosted alongside Executive Councillor [[Bernard Chan]], who became the director of Lam's campaign office. The chairmen’s committee of the campaign office would be composed of heavyweights, such as former [[Hong Kong Stock Exchange]] chairman [[Ronald Arculli]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Keeping continuity in Hong Kong politics without the hardline is a balancing act|url=http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2062642/keeping-continuity-hong-kong-politics-without-hardline|date=16 January 2017|newspaper=South China Morning Post}}</ref>
On 12 January 2017, Carrie Lam resigned from her Chief Secretary post. hours afterward, she announced her plan to enter the Chief Executive election if her resignation was approved.<ref name="Lamresign">{{cite news|title=Carrie Lam declares bid to lead Hong Kong|date=12 January 2017|newspaper=South China Morning Post|url=http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2061552/carrie-lam-resigns-hong-kongs-no-2-official-ahead-expected?spm=0.0.0.0.yqPad3}}</ref> On 16 January, the two Secretaries' resignations were approved by the central government, despite Tsang handed in his resignation on 12 December, while Lam only four days earlier on 12 January. Some pro-Beijing politicians saw this as a signal that Lam was the central government’s favoured candidate. Lam formally declared her candidacy on the same day, promising good governance with greater transparency and "new blood" in her cabinet.<ref name="Lamannounces"/> The press conference was hosted alongside Executive Councillor [[Bernard Chan]], who became the director of Lam's campaign office. The chairmen’s committee of the campaign office would be composed of heavyweights, such as former [[Hong Kong Stock Exchange]] chairman [[Ronald Arculli]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Keeping continuity in Hong Kong politics without the hardline is a balancing act|url=http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2062642/keeping-continuity-hong-kong-politics-without-hardline|date=16 January 2017|newspaper=South China Morning Post}}</ref>


John Tsang officially declared his candidacy on 19 January, after more than a month-long pending of his resignation by the central government which put his campaign in limbo. Tsang’s campaign office is helmed by retired senior civil servants Rebecca Lai Ko Wing-yee, former Permanent Secretary for the Civil Service, and [[Sandra Birch Lee|Sandra Lee Suk-yee]], former Permanent Secretary for Food and Health, despite a number of his supporters switching to Lam’s camp amid reports suggesting he failed to get endorsement from Beijing.<ref>{{cite news|title=John Tsang to officially announce chief executive bid despite no clear nod from Beijing|date=19 January 2017|newspaper=South China Morning Post|url=http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2063523/john-tsang-officially-announce-chief-executive-bid-despite}}</ref>
John Tsang formally declared his candidacy on 19 January.


===Allegation of Liaison Office's interference===
===Allegation of Liaison Office's interference===

Revision as of 07:46, 19 January 2017

Hong Kong Chief Executive election, 2017
← 2012 26 March 2017 2022 →
All 1,200 votes of the Election Committee (actually 1,194 members)
601 votes needed to win
Opinion polls
  John Tsang Carrie Lam
Nominee John Tsang Carrie Lam
Party Nonpartisan Nonpartisan
Alliance Pro-Beijing Pro-Beijing
  Woo Kwok-hing Regina Ip
Nominee Woo Kwok-hing Regina Ip
Party Nonpartisan NPP
Alliance N/A Pro-Beijing
Incumbent Chief Executive

Leung Chun-ying
Nonpartisan



The 2017 Hong Kong Chief Executive election is scheduled on 26 March 2017 for the 5th term of the Chief Executive of Hong Kong (CE). After the government's controversial constitutional reform proposal being rejected by the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo), in the wake of a series of controversies and massive Occupy protests, the selecting method of the 2017 Chief Executive would remain chosen by the 1,200-member Election Committee (EC).

Retired judge Woo Kwok-hing became the first to announce his candidacy in October 2016, followed by Executive and Legislative Councillor and New People's Party chairwoman Regina Ip on 15 December, after incumbent Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying announced he would not seek re-election, becoming the first Chief Executive who would serve only one term. Chief Secretary Carrie Lam and Financial Secretary John Tsang, both have resigned from their posts, formally announced their candidacy on 16 and 19 January respectively.

Background

Further information: Leung Chun-ying as Chief Executive of Hong Kong, Democratic development in Hong Kong, 2014–15 Hong Kong electoral reform, and 2014 Hong Kong protests

The leader of Hong Kong, the Chief Executive, is currently elected by a 1,200-member Election Committee (CE), though the Hong Kong Basic Law Article 45 states the "ultimate aim is the selection of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage upon nomination by a broadly representative nominating committee in accordance with democratic procedures."[1] Progress to universal suffrage has been the dominant issue in Hong Kong politics since the transfer of sovereignty in 1997, as the pan-democracy camp has demanded the full implementation of Article 45. After ruling out universal suffrage in the 2012 Chief Executive election in 2004, the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) in 2007 ruled that the 2017 Chief Executive election "may be implemented by the method of universal suffrage".[2]

On 31 August 2014, the NPCSC imposed the standard that "the Chief Executive shall be a person who loves the country and loves Hong Kong" and be nominated by a nominating committee, mirroring the present Election Committee, to nominate two to three candidates, each of whom must receive the support of more than half of the members of the nominating committee.[3] The pan-democrats viewed the restrictive nominating process as a violation of international standards of free elections, as candidates unsupportive of the central government would be screened out. The decision triggered a class boycott in Hong Kong[4][5] which escalated into a 79-day large-scale occupy movement, which is also known as the "Umbrella Revolution".

On 18 June 2015, the Legislative Council rejected the electoral reform proposal 28 to 8 votes with 33 principally pro-government legislators controversially absent, which meant the selecting method of the 2017 Chief Executive would remain chosen by the 1,200-member Election Committee.[6]

Candidates

Announced

Candidate Born Party Most recent position Campaign Nomination
received
bgcolor=Template:Nonpartisan/meta/color| Woo Kwok-hing
胡國興		 13 January 1946
(age 78)		 Nonpartisan
(Non-aligned)		 Deputy Judge of the Court of
First Instance of the High Court[7]
(2016)		 File:Woo Kwok-hing 2017CE.png
Announced: 27 October 2016		 TBD
bgcolor=Template:NPPHK/meta/color| Regina Ip
葉劉淑儀		 24 August 1950
(age 73)		 New People's Party
(Pro-Beijing)		 Member of the Legislative Council
(2008–present)
Announced: 15 December 2016		 TBD
bgcolor=Template:Nonpartisan/meta/color| Carrie Lam
林鄭月娥		 13 May 1957
(age 67)		 Nonpartisan
(Pro-Beijing)		 Chief Secretary for Administration
(2012–2017)		 Announced: 16 January 2017 TBD
bgcolor=Template:Nonpartisan/meta/color| John Tsang
曾俊華		 21 April 1951
(age 73)		 Nonpartisan
(Pro-Beijing)		 Financial Secretary
(2007–2017)		 Announced: 19 January 2017 TBD

Other minor candidates included ex-DAB member Wu Sai-chuen.[8]

Publicly expressed interest

Other potential candidates

Individuals listed below have been mentioned as potential 2017 Chief Executive candidates in at least two reliable media sources.

Declined

Campaign

Woo early campaign and emergence of potential candidates

The Chief Executive race started as early on 27 October 2016 when retired judge Woo Kwok-hing became the first candidate to declare his campaign.[40] He launched an offensive campaign against incumbent Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, questioning his achievements during his term while Woo himself was questioned for his lack of experience in public administration.[41]

Around the same time, New People's Party chairwoman Regina Ip, a 2012 candidate but did not receive enough nominations, expressed her interest in running in the election for the second time. She criticised the potential candidate, Financial Secretary John Tsang for not doing much in the last decade. Tsang responded by saying that "if one can be idle at it for 10 years, [he] has quite a bit of talent." He refused to response if he would run, only said it was "heaven’s secret" when he would make any decision. Leung Chun-ying also unleashed a thinly-veiled attack on Tsang, suggesting ministers should be "responsible" and focus on the upcoming policy address and budget rather than thinking about joining the city’s leadership race. Leung also argued that "will those pushing for the city’s independence stop what they are doing? Will those insulting their own country shut up?", referring to the Legislative Council oath-taking controversy. He went on by asking "will the land and housing problems that have accumulated become easier to solve under a new leader or government? Will the cabinet continue to touch on vested interests in the property market with courage and determination, and amid difficulties, to solve the housing problems?"[42]

Election Committee election and Leung withdrawal

See also: Hong Kong Election Committee Subsector elections, 2016
Incumbent Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying announced he would not seek re-election on 9 December 2016.

The pro-democrat professionals and activists formed a loose coalition called "Democrats 300+" hoping to snatch over 300 seats in the Election Committee Subsector elections based on the common platform of opposing Leung Chun-ying's second term.[43] On 9 December, two days before the election, Leung surprisingly announced he would not seek re-election, citing family reasons, which made him the first Chief Executive who would serve only one term.[34] After Leung's announcement, Chief Secretary for Administration Carrie Lam, once said she would retire, announced she would reconsider running for Chief Executive.[44]

Despite Leung's announcement, the pro-democrats were still able to win record 325 out of 1,200 seats, a quarter of seats with a surge of the turnout nearly 20 percentage points higher than that in the last committee election in 2011.[45] After the election, the two potential candidates, John Tsang and Regina Ip, resigned from their Financial Secretary and Executive Councillor posts on 12 and 15 December respectively, being expected to run for the top post.

Ip announcement of candidacy

On 14 December, Woo Kwok-hing became the first one to unveil his electoral platform under the slogan of "Righteous heart, righteous way, revert Hong Kong back to right track". He proposed to expand the voter base for choosing the Election Committee to one million in the 2022 Chief Executive election from the current 250,000, rising to three million by 2032 and eventually quasi-universal suffrage. His attendees included Andy Ho On-tat, former information coordinator during Donald Tsang administration from 2006 to 2012.[46]

Regina Ip received her party's endorsement on 14 December and resigned from the Executive Council on the next day. She announced her candidacy on 15 December under the campaign slogan "Win back Hong Kong", the one she used in her 2016 Legislative Council campaign. She called for a relaunch of the electoral reform process under Beijing’s restrictive framework as decreed by the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) on 31 August 2014. She also pledged to enact controversial Basic Law Article 23 with "suitable measures".[47] Her campaign launching rally was attended by former colonial Chief Secretary Sir David Akers-Jones and businessman Allan Zeman as special advisers to Ip’s campaign office.

Lam and Tsang entry into the race

On 12 January 2017, Carrie Lam resigned from her Chief Secretary post. hours afterward, she announced her plan to enter the Chief Executive election if her resignation was approved.[48] On 16 January, the two Secretaries' resignations were approved by the central government, despite Tsang handed in his resignation on 12 December, while Lam only four days earlier on 12 January. Some pro-Beijing politicians saw this as a signal that Lam was the central government’s favoured candidate. Lam formally declared her candidacy on the same day, promising good governance with greater transparency and "new blood" in her cabinet.[49] The press conference was hosted alongside Executive Councillor Bernard Chan, who became the director of Lam's campaign office. The chairmen’s committee of the campaign office would be composed of heavyweights, such as former Hong Kong Stock Exchange chairman Ronald Arculli.[50]

John Tsang officially declared his candidacy on 19 January, after more than a month-long pending of his resignation by the central government which put his campaign in limbo. Tsang’s campaign office is helmed by retired senior civil servants Rebecca Lai Ko Wing-yee, former Permanent Secretary for the Civil Service, and Sandra Lee Suk-yee, former Permanent Secretary for Food and Health, despite a number of his supporters switching to Lam’s camp amid reports suggesting he failed to get endorsement from Beijing.[51]

Allegation of Liaison Office's interference

On 17 January 2017, New People's Party deputy chairman Michael Tien complained the election had "lost its shape" due to the increasing interference of "an invisible hand". He revealed that many of the 1,194 Election Committee members had received phone calls asking them to nominate certain candidates. Tien did not disclose the name of the candidate backed by the invisible hand, despite it was reported that the Liaison Office had informed senior editors of the local pro-Beijing newspapers that Carrie Lam was Beijing's preferred candidate ahead of her declaration of candidacy.[49][52]

Opinion polling

Date(s)
conducted 		Polling source Sample
size 		CY
Leung 		Carrie
Lam 		John
Tsang 		Jasper
Tsang 		Regina
Ip 		KH
Woo 		Antony
Leung 		Norman
Chan 		Audrey
Eu 		Frederick
Ma 		Bernard
Chan 		Others Don't know/
Abstain
12–15 Jan 2017 nowTV/LUPGP 1,103 - 22.0% 31.3% 7.7% 5.4% 12.0% - - - - - - 21.6%
4–10 Jan 2017 SCMP/CCPOS 1,024 - 23.2% 27.6% 7.9% 9.7% 12.6% - - - - - - 19.0%
16–20 Dec 2016 nowTV/LUPGP 1,007 - 20.2% 26.6% 8.0% 10.7% 11.5% - - - - - - 23.0%
12–16 Dec 2016 HKEJ/CCPOS 1,032 - 23.9% 32.6% 7.6% 6.6% 11.4% - - - - - - 18.0%
5–6 Dec 2016 HK01/HKUPOP 516 6.9% 10.8% 30.0% 13.9% 6.1% 8.4% 5.8% 0.5% - - - 4.5% 13.1%
24–29 Nov 2016 nowTV/LUPGP 1,052 9.7% 8.3% 28.0% 10.7% 6.2% 9.8% - - - - - - 27.3%
28 Oct–2 Nov 2016 nowTV/LUPGP 1,020 7.9% 8.3% 28.1% 9.7% 6.7% 12.2% - - - - - - 26.5%
26 Oct–2 Nov 2016 HKEJ/CCPOS 1,005 9.5% 10.3% 28.4% 11.4% 8.4% 13.5% - - - - - - 18.5%
3–5 Oct 2016 Initium/CCPOS 521 10.5% 11.6% 32.4% 11.8% 5.1% - 14.1% - - - - - 14.5%
26–27 Sep 2016 HK01/HKUPOP 513 10.9% 12.3% 28.6% 10.4% 3.8% - 7.1% 0.6% - - - 7.5% 19.0%
23 Jan 2016 HK01/HKUPOP 522 8% 16% 20% 5% 5% - 8% 0% 11% 3% 1% 2% 19%

See also

References

  1. ^ HK basic law web pdf. "HK basic law." The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. Retrieved on 2007-01-08.
  2. ^ The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (2013). Methods for Selecting the Chief Executive in 2017 and for Forming the Legislative Council in 2016 Consultation Document (PDF). p. 3. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  3. ^ "Full text of NPC decision on universal suffrage for HKSAR chief selection". Xinhua News Agency. 31 August 2014. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  4. ^ "'Snitch line' in operation against school boycotters in H.K." GlobalPost. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  5. ^ "Hong Kong Students to Boycott Classes If Democracy Demands Aren't Met". The Wall Street Journal. 21 August 2014. Retrieved 10 September 2014. {{cite web}}: Cite uses deprecated parameter |authors= (help)
  6. ^ "Hong Kong legislators reject China-backed reform bill". CNN. 19 June 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  7. ^ "G.N. 4506 No. 32 Vol. 20" (PDF). Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Gazette.
  8. ^ "The Chief Executive race and discussion with Regina Ip, Election Committee Subsector elections". RTHK.
  9. ^ Cheng, Kris (6 January 2017). "Lawmaker 'Long Hair' Leung Kwok-hung considers joining Hong Kong leadership race". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  10. ^ "Leung Kwok-hung considers joining CE race". RTHK. 9 January 2016.
  11. ^ "曾鈺成：2017年不參選特首". Apple Daily. 15 June 2013.
  12. ^ "'Let's wait and see': Legislative Council president keeps Hong Kong guessing on possible run for city's top job". South China Morning Post. 5 July 2016.
  13. ^ a b "Double trouble for CY Leung? John Tsang announces possible bid for Hong Kong's top job soon after Jasper Tsang does the same". South China Morning Post. 29 July 2016.
  14. ^ Lee, Wing-tat (9 June 2016). "人人都想做特首？特區領導惡鬥大揭幕". hk01.
  15. ^ Chan, Yannie (3 March 2015). "People Like John Tsang Now and Regina Ip's Unicorn Dancer is a Hero". HK Magazine.
  16. ^ Ma, Mary (12 May 2015). "2017 ticks for Woo and Tsang". The Standard.
  17. ^ "A handshake between China's president and Hong Kong's financial secretary has tongues wagging". South China Morning Post. 29 June 2015.
  18. ^ Chatterjee, Saikat; Roantree, Anne Marie (30 September 2015). "Hong Kong sees 2-4 percent growth as 'new normal', no change to dollar peg".
  19. ^ a b "【政情】特首跑馬仔十人選拔名單". now news. 27 October 2016.
  20. ^ a b "《信報》：港特首人選　北京名單有10人". Apple Daily. 27 October 2016.
  21. ^ Ma, Mary (16 December 2013). "'King fishers' abound in CE race". The Standard.
  22. ^ "Skirting the issue of our next chief". The Standard. 14 January 2014.
  23. ^ Cheung, Tony (16 December 2013). "Antony Leung Kam-chung has chance at chief executive job, says Frederick Ma Si-hang". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  24. ^ "Henry Tang says Antony Leung 'qualified' to run for chief executive". South China Morning Post. 16 December 2013. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  25. ^ "陳智思：未來十年不會選特首". Now TV. 8 March 2016.
  26. ^ "【特首戰開鑼】「黑馬」陳馮富珍：香港起了大變化但明年70歲望退休". 22 November 2016.
  27. ^ Lee, Colleen; But, Joshua (25 March 2013). "Pan-democrats fear party screening after Shenzhen meeting". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  28. ^ Ma, Mary (13 March 2013). "Time calls for suffrage momentum". The Standard. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  29. ^ "余若薇：公民黨不打算推舉任何人參選特首". Hong Kong Economic Times. 28 September 2016.
  30. ^ "劉慧卿稱無興趣選特首　單仲偕：樂意抬橋". RTHK. 1 January 2016.
  31. ^ "做女特首？ 李慧琼：受寵若驚　啼笑皆非". HK01. 20 March 2016.
  32. ^ "梁振英說五年後有機會願接受普選洗禮". Commercial Radio. 25 March 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  33. ^ "It's Leung's turn for some home truths in illegal structure row". South China Morning Post. 26 January 2013. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  34. ^ a b Haas, Benjamin (9 December 2016). "Hong Kong's divisive leader to step down amid political crisis". The Guardian.
  35. ^ "李國章：港獨思潮因不滿建制". Apple Daily. 1 December 2016.
  36. ^ "【李八方online】林鄭係搶眼「胭脂馬」？馬時亨話自己唔跑慢慢行". Apple Daily. 12 January 2017.
  37. ^ "唐英年：不參選特首 創社團發掘政治人才". TVB News. 20 May 2015.
  38. ^ 廖梓達 (30 October 2014). "認做錯辭黨魁　田北俊：續為港人發聲". CRNTT.
  39. ^ "Peter Woo has 'zero interest' in running for CE". Radio Television Hong Kong. 15 May 2015.
  40. ^ "Retired judge Woo Kwok-hing first to officially throw hat in the ring for Hong Kong's 2017 chief executive election". South China Morning Post. 26 October 2016.
  41. ^ "Rivals turn up the heat in Hong Kong leadership race". South China Morning Post. 30 October 2016.
  42. ^ "Retired judge pulls no punches as he launches bid for Hong Kong's top job". South China Morning Post. 27 October 2016.
  43. ^ "More join race for election". The Standard. 15 November 2016.
  44. ^ "Hong Kong's Carrie Lam 'will reconsider' joining chief executive race after CY Leung backs out". South China Morning Post. 10 December 2016.
  45. ^ "Pro-democracy camp takes record quarter of seats on Election Committee that will choose Hong Kong's leader". South China Morning Post. 12 December 2016.
  46. ^ "Woo unveils platform, says he is confident of being shortlisted". ejinsight.com. 15 December 2016.
  47. ^ "Regina Ip declares her entry into leadership race with pledge to enact controversial Article 23". South China Morning Post. 15 December 2016.
  48. ^ "Carrie Lam declares bid to lead Hong Kong". South China Morning Post. 12 January 2017.
  49. ^ a b "Carrie Lam aims to 'reignite' Hong Kong as she officially announces candidacy for top job". South China Moring Post. 16 January 2017.
  50. ^ "Keeping continuity in Hong Kong politics without the hardline is a balancing act". South China Morning Post. 16 January 2017.
  51. ^ "John Tsang to officially announce chief executive bid despite no clear nod from Beijing". South China Morning Post. 19 January 2017.
  52. ^ "'Don't ask us to quit': Chief executive hopeful Regina Ip stands firm on candidacy in overcrowded field". South China Morning Post. 17 January 2017.

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