“Referendum” Timeline – Countdown to Showdown

Hong Kong – The origins of this confrontation date back to the Sino-British negotiations on the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong to China.

On December 19, 1984, Britain and China signed the Joint Declaration, setting out the terms of the return of sovereignty of Hong Kong to China in 1997. China and Britain promised that Hong Kong’s freedoms and way of life would continue unchanged for 50 years. Hong Kong people were also promised “a legislature constituted by elections”.

As a result, this promise to implement democracy was contained in the Basic Law, drafted by a committee drawn from China and Hong Kong, which concluded its work in 1990.

TIMELINE

• June 30 / July 1, 1997

Sovereignty of Hong Kong is returned to China at midnight on June 30. In the early hours of July 1, the new administrations is sworn in and the Hong Kong Basic Law goes into effect. It states that the selection of Chief Executive is to be ultimately by means of Universal Suffrage (Article 45). But it also says the method for selecting the Chief Executive “shall be specified “in accordance with the principle of gradual and orderly progress.”

Article 45 also stipulates that universal suffrage is the ultimate goal. Under the Basic Law, electoral law could be amended to allow for this as soon as 2007.

• April 26, 2004

The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress bars any substantial changes, ruling that “ in the circumstances, conditions do not exist for the selection of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage upon nomination by a broadly representative nominating committee in accordance with democratic procedures.” It also ruled out the election of all Legislative Council members by universal suffrage.

• December 29, 2007

The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress rules there will be no reform until 2012. It postponed direct elections of the Chief Executive and Legislative Council respectively until 2017 and 2018 at the earliest.

• January 13, 2008

The Democratic Party handed in a petition of 10,000 signatures calling for universal suffrage to be realized in 2012, and protesting against the decision to delay it to maybe 2017.

• July, 2009

The League of Social Democrats unveils a plan to create a “referendum on universal suffrage”. One pan-democrat lawmaker in each of the city’s five geographical constituencies would  resign and seek re-election in a by-election. It declared the by-elections to be a referendum.

• January 11, 2010

The Civic Party and League of Social Democrats announce that one lawmaker from each of the five constituencies would resign on January 27.

• January 18, 2010

Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Stephen Lam Sui-lung warns that any attempt to conduct a de facto referendum on Hong Kong’s electoral reform would be inconsistent with the Basic Law.

• 22 January 2010

Former Secretary for Justice (Attourney General) Elsie Leung Oi-sie warns of anarchy if referendums are held at will in Hong Kong, and says the government should consider changing the law to restrict Legco by-elections.

• 26 January, 2010

Tanya Chan and Alan Leong Kah-kit of the Civic Party, and Wong Yuk-man, Leung Kwok-hung and Albert Chan Wai-yip of the League of Social Democrats, resign form the Legislative Council to force territory-wide by-elections.