The last Legislative Council election in Hong Kong: Implications and consequences

Hong Kong's last Legislative Council (Legco) election under British sovereignty was held in September 1995. Yet mainland Chinese officials have declared that they do not recognize the electoral results and that pre-1997 political structures in Hong Kong will be scrapped and reconstituted. Beijing is disappointed that the democratic faction, led by the Democratic Party, won more than half of the seats in the election, while pro-Beijing forces suffered a humiliating defeat. The results of the Legco election exemplify certain trends which will have implications for transition politics in Hong Kong: a consolidation of support for the democrats, the rise of adversarial party politics, an increasing role for Legco, and the expression of anti-China sentiment. However, the Chinese denouncement of the election as unfair and unreasonable and its decision to establish a provisional Special Administrative Region (SAR) legislature will likely lead to several consequences during the political transition: a legislative vacuum, a crisis of legitimacy, and extreme adversarial politics. The cost of the political consequences may be too high for Hong Kong's people to bear. If the results of the 1995 election are an indication of the people's genuine choices and wishes, the electoral results should be respected, as long-term stability is built on key players' responsiveness to the people's wishes.