Political Background of HK & SG
HONG KONG
Status: Hong Kong is a former British colony was handed back to China in 1997.
It has its own judiciary and a separate legal system from mainland China. Those rights include freedom of assembly and freedom of speech.
But those freedoms - the Basic Law - expire in 2047 and it is not clear what Hong Kong's status will then be.
Legislature:
Also known as Hong Kong’s Legislative Council (Legco), the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992 (22 U.S.C. 5701, P.L. 102-383) states, “Support for democratization is a fundamental principle of United States foreign policy.” The development of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council, or Legco, has been a fundamental part of Hong Kong’s complex and incomplete process of democratization, and as such has become a key concern of some U.S. policymakers.
Independence:
Hong Kong independence is a political movement that advocates for the sovereignty of Hong Kong. Hong Kong is one of two special administrative regions (SAR) which enjoys a high degree of autonomy as compared to the mainland under China, guaranteed under Article 2 of Hong Kong Basic Law as ratified under the Sino-British Joint Declaration.
Since the transfer of the sovereignty of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the PRC in 1997, a growing number of Hongkongers have become concerned about Beijing's encroachment on the territory's freedoms and the failure of the Hong Kong government to deliver "genuine democracy".
Chinese People’s Political Consultative Congress
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Political Party
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Communist Party of China
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Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang
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China Democratic League
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China Democratic National Construction Association
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China Association for Promoting Democracy
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Chinese Peasants’ and Workers’ Democratic Party
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China Zhi Gong Party
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Jiusan Society
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Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League
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Nonpartisan
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People's Organization
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Occupation
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Specially Invite
A chronology of key events:
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1842 - China cedes Hong Kong island to Britain after the First Opium War.
1860 - The Convention of Peking cedes Kowloon formally to Britain.
1937 - With the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War
1946 - Britain re-establishes civil government.
Countdown to handover
1984 - Britain and China sign Joint Declaration on the conditions under which Hong Kong will revert to Chinese rule in 1997.
Key Event: Under the "one country, two systems" formula, Hong Kong will become part of one communist-led country but retain its capitalist economic system and partially democratic political system for 50 years after the handover.
1994 June - After nearly two years of bitter wrangling, Hong Kong's legislature introduces a stripped-down version of Chris Patten's democratic reform package. The new legislation widens the franchise but falls far short of providing for universal suffrage.
1995 - Elections held for new Legislative Council (LegCo).
One country, two systems
1997 July - Hong Kong is handed back to the Chinese authorities after more than 150 years of British control. (Hong Kong gain independence)
————Hong Kong Independence Day: 1 July 1997—————
Calls for reform
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2003 July - A day after a visit to the territory by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, 500,000 people march against Article 23. Two Hong Kong government members resign. The bill is shelved indefinitely.
2004 July - Some 200,000 people mark the seventh anniversary of Hong Kong's handover to Chinese rule by taking part in a demonstration protesting Beijing's ruling against electing the next chief executive by universal suffrage.
Britain accuses China of interfering in Hong Kong's constitutional reform process in a manner inconsistent with self-governance guarantees agreed before the handover.
2004 September - Pro-Beijing parties retain their majority in LegCo elections widely seen as a referendum on Hong Kong's aspirations for greater democracy.
TIMELINE
Government Structure
Media System impact on Hong Kong Political System
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From ownership structure to continual negotiation
The colonial Hong Kong government had long-established various harsh press laws. But the laws were seldom utilized to control the press, partly because of the need to avoid provoking China, and partly because the Hong Kong press in the immediate post-war decades focused mainly on Chinese politics instead of social and political affairs in Hong Kong. “Press freedom” was, for a long period of time, the freedom to criticise both the Communist regime in the PRC and the KMT regime in Taiwan as long as the colonial government was not challenged (Chan and Lee 1991).
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Forms of control and censorship
Ownership does not entail direct intervention into newsrooms by the owners, but it entails the possibility of intervention when needed. What the allocative and personnel decisions lead to self-censorship and constitutive censorship. C. C. Lee defined self-censorship as “a set of editorial actions ranging from omission, dilution, distortion, and change of emphasis to choice of rhetorical devices by journalists, their organizations, and even the entire media community in anticipation of currying reward and avoiding punishment from the power structure” (Lee 1998: 57).
More of Political of Hong Kong can be found under
(Appendix F)
SINGAPORE
Status: Republic
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Legislature: Parliament
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Independence: 9 August 1965
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Singapore is a republic and a parliamentary democracy, with an elective, non-executive presidency. The constitution came into force on 2 June 1959. It provides for a head of state, a Prime Minister and a cabinet, and a unicameral Parliament. Elections under universal adult suffrage and compulsory voting must be held at least every five years.
The Prime Minister is the leader of the majority party in Parliament, who chooses a cabinet from among the members of Parliament.
The Parliament is made up of three types of members:
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87 elected members (75 elected in teams of between three and six to represent 14 group representation constituencies and 12 in single-member constituencies); up to nine nominated members (NMPs)
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Up to three non-constituency members (NCMPs) from the opposition political parties. In early 2013 the 12th Parliament had 99 members, comprising 87 elected members, nine NMPs and three NCMPs.
The President is directly elected by universal adult suffrage for a six-year term. In practice the President no longer has powers of veto over legislation or appointments. The position is largely ceremonial. The first presidential election was held in 1993 but, in 1999 and in 2005, when the election committee, under the very restrictive eligibility rules, found only one candidate to be eligible, there was no election.
Politics
In an early general election in November 2001, the electorate gave the People’s Action Party (PAP) a decisive endorsement, when it took 82 of the 84 elective seats with 73.7 percent of the votes. The Workers’ Party (WP) and the four-party Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) each won one seat.
In August 2004 Goh Chok Tong was succeeded by Lee Hsien Loong, son of Lee Kuan Yew and Deputy Prime Minister since 1990.
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The PAP was again returned with 82 seats in the May 2006 general election, receiving 66.6 percent of the votes. The WP and SDA each won one seat. Opposition parties contested 47 seats, and it was the first time more than half the seats were contested.
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In the May 2011 general election, the PAP won 81 seats and received 60.1 percent of the votes. Opposition parties contested 82 seats and the WP took six. Two non-constituency seats were allocated to the WP and one from the Singapore People’s Party. Turnout was 93 percent.
In a hard-fought presidential contest, in August 2011, former Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Tony Tan – with 35.2 percent of the votes cast – defeated his three rivals; Tan Cheng Bock secured 34.9 percent of the votes, Tan Jee Say 25.0 percent and Tan Kin Lian 4.9 percent. Dr. Tan succeeded retiring President S. R. Nathan on 1 September 2011.
Former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew (1959–90) died on 23 March 2015.
SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT
Branches of Government
The Government in Singapore is modeled after the Westminster system, with 3 separate branches:
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The Legislature (which comprises the President and Parliament),
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The Legislature makes the laws of the land.
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The Executive (which comprises Cabinet Ministers and office-holders, and is led by the Prime Minister)
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The Executive administers the law.
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The Judiciary
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The Judiciary interprets the law through the Courts.
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The Prime Minister is the Head of Government and the President is the Head of State.
Unicameral
Being unicameral, the Parliament of Singapore has only one House. The Members of Parliament (MPs) are voted in at regular General Elections. The leader of the political party that secures the majority of seats in Parliament will be asked by the President to become the Prime Minister (PM). The PM will then select his Ministers from elected MPs to form the Cabinet.
Election of Speaker of Parliament
When the new Parliament meets for the first time after a General Election, the Speaker will be elected. The "life" of each Parliament is 5 years from the date of its first meeting or Sitting. A General Election must be held within 3 months of the dissolution of Parliament.
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List of Political Parties in Singapore
People's Action Party
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Established on 21 November 1954
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Primary objective: Striving for Singapore’s independence from British rule.
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The political party was first led by Lee Kuan Yew as its secretary-general, with Toh Chin Chye as its founding chairman.
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The PAP was voted into power in the Legislative Assembly general election held on 30 May 1959 and officially became the first fully elected government of the self-governing state of Singapore on 5 June 1959, with Lee as the state’s first prime minister.
Party structure
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Cadre system
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Following the attempt by left-wing members to gain control of the party in 1957, the PAP introduced a cadre system on 23 November 1958 to prevent hostile takeover from within the party. Under the system, only cadre members have voting rights to elect the CEC. Those invited to be cadres undergo a stringent review process and are selected by the CEC
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