Electoral Structures and Public Opinion in the 2004 Hong Kong Legislative Council Elections

Significant steps occurred in Hong Kong’s political development during and following the 2004 Legislative Council (LegCo) election campaign. Effectively, the Mainland’s class approach to politics collapsed while the fractious democratic movement united, but largely outside rather than under the leadership of the Democratic Party (DP). Originally Beijing set up the Hong Kong Progressive Alliance (HKPA) for the rich, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB) for the middle class, the Federation of Trade Unions (FTU) for the working classes, and put what Mao called the “stinking ninth” category of intellectuals, academics, and assorted professionals into the New Century Forum (NCF). The FTU and DAB long campaigned together in what could be described as an alliance of workers and management while the HKPA practiced an elite form of closed-door deal-making politics in the Functional Constituencies (FC) and in the Election Committee (EC). The NCF generally functioned more as a think-tank than a party, but up until 2004 it had representatives in LegCo via the Mainland-dominated EC.