The 2007 Hong Kong District Council elections were held on 18 November 2007. Elections were held to all 18

districts of Hong Kong Hong Kong is administratively divided into 18 districts. Each district has a district councils of Hong Kong, district council. District councils was formerly called district boards, for which the boards were established in 1982,last elections in 2003. The

pro-Beijing The pro-Beijing camp, pro-establishment camp or pro-China camp is a political alignment in Hong Kong which generally supports the policies of the Beijing central government and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) towards Hong Kong. The term " ...

flagship party

Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) is a Pro-Beijing camp (Hong Kong), pro-Beijing political party registered since 1992 in Hong Kong. Chaired by Gary Chan and holding 19 Legislative Council of Hong Kong ...

(DAB) received the largest victory in its history, rebounding their loss from the 2003 with extra gain, taking total number of 115 seats, compared to 62 seats in the 2003 elections. The

pan-democrats The pro-democracy camp, also known as the pan-democracy camp, is a political alignment in Hong Kong that supports increased democracy, namely the universal suffrage of the Chief Executive and the Legislative Council as given by the Basic La ...

suffered a devastating loss, with its

electoral coalition An electoral alliance (also known as a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral pact, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc) is an association of political party, political parties or individuals that exists solely to stand ...

winning only about a hundred seats out of almost 300 candidates. The pro-democracy flagship party Democratic Party was beaten in every region especially in Kowloon, losing almost half of the seats as compared to the 2003 elections. As a result, the pan-democrats lost control of their two traditional strongholds,

Sham Shui Po Sham Shui Po () is an area of Kowloon, Hong Kong, situated in the northwestern part of the Kowloon Peninsula, north of Tai Kok Tsui, east of Cheung Sha Wan and south of Shek Kip Mei (). It is located in and is the namesake of the Sham Shui ...

and Kwai Tsing with the help of the pro-government members appointed by

Chief Executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

Donald Tsang Sir Donald Tsang Yam-kuen (; born 7 October 1944) is a former Hong Kong civil servant who served as the second Chief Executive of Hong Kong from 2005 to 2012. Tsang joined the colonial civil service as an Executive Officer in 1967, occupyi ...

to the District Councils.

Contesting parties

Parties

In September 2007, the

announced their plan to field 289 candidates in the election, including 138 incumbents and 136 newcomers after a process of coordination initiated by the Power for Democracy under the banner of Democratic Coalition for DC Election. After the coordination, the number constituencies with more than one pro-democratic candidates reduced from 30 to 7. The pan-democrats demanded universal suffrage and abolition of the appointed seat in the District Councils as the election platform. The Democratic Party, the flagship pro-democratic party fielded 114 candidates,

Civic Party The Civic Party (CP) was a pro-democracy camp, pro-democracy liberalism in Hong Kong, liberal political party from March 2006 to May 2023 in Hong Kong. The party was formed in 2006 on the basis of the Article 45 Concern Group, Basic Law Ar ...

41,

Hong Kong Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood The Hong Kong Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood (ADPL) is a Hong Kong pro-democracy social-liberal political party catering to grassroots interest with a strong basis in Sham Shui Po. Established on 26 October 1986, it was one ...

(ADPL) 38,

League of Social Democrats The League of Social Democrats (LSD) is a social democratic party in Hong Kong. Chaired by Chan Po-ying, wife of Leung Kwok-hung, it positions itself as the radical wing of the pro-democracy camp and stresses on "street actions" and "parlia ...

28, The Frontier 15, as well as Democratic Alliance,

Civic Act-up Civic Act-up () is a small pro-democracy political group in Hong Kong. It was founded on 24 September 2003 by a group of relatively young activists with the encouragement of Legislative Councillor Cyd Ho, to challenge the existing pro-governmen ...

Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions Hong may refer to: Places *Høng, a town in Denmark *Hong Kong, a city and a special administrative region in China *Hong, Nigeria *Hong River in China and Vietnam *Lake Hong in China Surnames *Hong (Chinese surname) *Hong (Korean surname) O ...

(CTU), Neighbourhood and Worker's Service Centre (NWSC) and the others. The Civic Party, derived from the

Article 45 Concern Group Basic Law Article 45 Concern Group was a pro-democracy political group in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (HKSAR) . It was established on 14 November 2003 by legal practitioners and academics. It ha ...

established after the 2003 July 1 protests was a relatively new party without much resources and district network with only 7 incumbent district councillors. The party fielded around 42 candidates in constituencies where the pan-democrats had not contested with its new image to appeal to the voters. Another new founded League of Social Democrats fielded about 30 candidates in lower-income areas such as

Wong Tai Sin Wong Tai Sin or Huang Daxian () is a Chinese Taoist deity popular in Jinhua, Zhejiang, and Hong Kong with the power of healing. The name, meaning the "Great Immortal Wong (Huang)", is the divine form of Huang Chuping or Wong Cho Ping (; c. 328 ...

Kwun Tong Kwun Tong is an area in the Kwun Tong District of Hong Kong, situated at the eastern part of the Kowloon Peninsula, and its boundary stretches from Lion Rock in the north to Lei Yue Mun in the south, and from the winding paths of Kowloon P ...

and

Tsuen Wan Tsuen Wan (formerly also spelled Tsun Wan) is a New towns of Hong Kong, town built on a bay in the New Territories West (constituency), western New Territories of Hong Kong, opposite Tsing Yi, Tsing Yi Island across Rambler Channel. The market ...

, seeking to appeal to the lower class voters. The thinktank Savantas Policy Institute set up by former

Secretary for Security The Secretary for Security is the member of the Government of Hong Kong in charge of the Security Bureau (Hong Kong), Security Bureau, which is responsible for public safety, security, and immigration matters. The post was created in 1973 a ...

Regina Ip Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee (; ' Lau; born 24 August 1950) is a politician in Hong Kong. She is currently the Convenor of the Executive Council of Hong Kong, Executive Council (ExCo) and a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo), as w ...

also fielded four candidates with independent affiliation in the election, including two retired civil servant and a former administrative officer.

Candidates

A historic record of 917 nominations were received since the handover of Hong Kong. 39 of the 405 seats received only one nomination thus were returned uncontestedly, of which 12 of them were taken by the

(DAB), 2 by

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

and 1 by the Democratic Party. Cyd Ho, the incumbent district councillor who beat DAB's

Ip Kwok-him Ip Kwok-him, Grand Bauhinia Medal, GBM, Gold Bauhinia Star, GBS, Justice of the Peace, JP ( zh, 葉國謙; born 8 November 1951) is a former unofficial member of the Executive Council of Hong Kong, served between 2016 and 2022. He is also forme ...

in his own constituency Kwun Lung in 2003, did not seek for re-election. Ip faced challenged by activist Ho Loy. Two Civic Party rising stars, barrister

Tanya Chan Tanya Chan (; born 14 September 1971) is a Hong Kong politician who served as a Legislative Councillor representing Hong Kong Island from 2008 to 2012, and again from 2016 to 2020. She is a founding member of the Civic Party. Chan is sometimes k ...

and Tsang Kwok-fung challenged incumbent

Peak Peak or The Peak may refer to: Basic meanings Geology * Mountain peak ** Pyramidal peak, a mountaintop that has been sculpted by erosion to form a point Mathematics * Peak hour or rush hour, in traffic congestion * Peak (geometry), an (''n''-3)-d ...

district councillor Lam Man-kit of the

and DAB legislator Li Kwok-ying in Tai Po Market. Priscilla Leung, a pro-Beijing assistant professor of law at the

City University of Hong Kong The City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) is a public research university in Kowloon Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1984 as the City Polytechnic of Hong Kong and formally established as the City University of Hong Kong in 1994 ...

also ran in the election, challenging Democrat Chan Ka-wai in Whampoa East.

Pre-election events

On 15 November, two days before the election, Ko Keung-wah, a village representative of Shung Ching San Tsuen in

Yuen Long Yuen Long is a town in the western New Territories, Hong Kong. To its west lie Hung Shui Kiu (), Tin Shui Wai, Lau Fau Shan and Ha Tsuen, to the south Shap Pat Heung and Tai Tong, to the east Au Tau and Kam Tin (), and to the north Nam Sang Wa ...

and an assistant to the

candidate Philip Wong Pak-yan in Shap Pat Heung North and Lam Tim-fook in Shap Pat Heung South, was attacked. Ko got a finger on his right hand was chopped off and suffered at least four deep slice wounds to his back and one to his abdomen. Anti-triad officers said the attack might be linked with the election. On the election day, a triad member was spotted campaigning for an independent candidate in Shap Pat Heung North influential rural leader Leung Fuk-yuen.

Results

, - ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" colspan=3 , Political Affiliation ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , Popular vote ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , % ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , %± ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , Standing ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , Elected ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , ± , - , style="background-color:pink;border-bottom-style:hidden;" rowspan="11" , , width=1px style="background-color: " , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 292,916 , , 25.73 , , 2.79 , , 178 , , 115 , , 40 , - , width=1px style="background-color: " , , style="text-align:left;" ,

Civil Force Civil Force () is a pro-Beijing, district-based political party in Hong Kong. Since 2014, the Civil Force has entered an alliance with the New People's Party of Regina Ip. Headed by chairman Pun Kwok-shan, it has its stronghold in the Sha Tin ...

, 30,880 , , 2.71 , , 0.27 , , 20 , , 18 , , 3 , - , width=1px style="background-color: " , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 50,026 , , 4.39 , , 1.63 , , 55 , , 14 , , 3 , - , style="background-color: ", , style="text-align:left;" ,

Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions The Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (HKFTU) is a pro-Beijing labour and political group established in 1948 in Hong Kong. It is the oldest and largest labour group in Hong Kong with over 420,000 members in 253 affiliates and associated ...

, 4,208 , , 0.37 , , 0.11 , , 3, , 1 , , 1 , - , style="background-color: #FF6503", , style="text-align:left;" , Tseung Kwan O Residents' Association , 1,922 , , 0.17 , , - , , 1 , , 1 , , - , - , style="background-color: #9B28E9", , style="text-align:left;" , Tin Shui Wai Women Association , 1,457 , , 0.13 , , - , , 1 , , 1 , , - , - , style="background-color: ", , style="text-align:left;" , Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions , 1,339 , , 0.12 , , 0.12 , , 1 , , 1 , , 0 , - , style="background-color: #004DA2", , style="text-align:left;" , New Territories General Chamber of Commerce , 818 , , 0.07 , , - , , 1 , , 0 , , - , - , style="background-color: ", , style="text-align:left;" , New Century Forum , 543 , , 0.05 , , 0.03 , , 1 , , 0 , , 0 , - , width=1px style="background-color: " , , style="text-align:left;" ,

Hong Kong Civic Association The Hong Kong Civic Association is one of the longest-existing political organisations in Hong Kong. Established in 1954 by a group of teachers, professionals and businessmen, the Civic Association was one of the two semi-political parties to ...

, 390 , , 0.03 , , - , , 5 , , 0 , , - , - , width=1px style="background-color: " , , style="text-align:left;" , Independents , 226,645 , , 19.91 , , - , , 161 , , 118 , , , - style="background-color:Pink" , colspan=3 style="text-align:left;" , Total for pro-Beijing camp, , 614,621 , , 53.98 , , 7.38 , , 430 , , 273 , , 61 , - , style="background-color:lightgreen;border-bottom-style:hidden;" rowspan="12", , width=1px style="background-color: " , , style="text-align:left;" , Democratic Party , 175,054 , , 15.38 , , 5.90 , , 110 , , 59 , , 21 , - , width=1px style="background-color: " , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 52,386 , , 4.60 , , 0.46 , , 37 , , 17 , , 7 , - , width=1px style="background-color: " , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 48,837 , , 4.29 , , - , , 41 , , 8 , , 2 , - , width=1px style="background-color: " , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 28,601 , , 2.51 , , - , , 29 , , 6 , , 0 , - , width=1px style="background-color: " , , style="text-align:left;" , Neighbourhood and Worker's Service Centre , 12,565 , , 1.10 , , 0.24 , , 5 , , 4 , , 0 , - , style="background-color: ", , style="text-align:left;" ,

Frontier A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary. Australia The term "frontier" was frequently used in colonial Australia in the meaning of country that borders the unknown or uncivilised, th ...

, 18,203 , , 1.60 , , 0.81 , , 15 , , 3 , , 3 , - , width=1px style="background-color: " , , style="text-align:left;" , Yuen Long Tin Shui Wai Democratic Alliance , 9,530 , , 0.84 , , 0.04 , , 11 , , 1 , , 4 , - , width=1px style="background-color: " , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 2,273 , , 0.20 , , 0.18 , , 2 , , 0 , , 2 , - , width=1px style="background-color: " , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 991 , , 0.09 , , 0.40 , , 2 , , 0 , , 2 , - , width=1px style="background-color: " , , style="text-align:left;" , Individuals , 60,510 , , 5.31 , , - , , 44 , , 10 , , - , - style="background-color:#E9E9E9" , colspan=2 style="text-align:left;" , Total for Democratic Coalition for DC Election, , 409,573 , , 35.97 , , - , , 296 , , 108 , , - , - , width=1px style="background-color: " , , style="text-align:left;" , Independent democrats and others , 36,208 , , 3.18 , , - , , 39 , , 19 , , - , - style="background-color:lightGreen" , colspan=3 style="text-align:left;" , Total for pan-democracy camp , , 445,781 , , 39.15 , , 5.51 , , 335 , , 127 , , 56 , - style="background-color:#DDDDDD;" , colspan=3 style="text-align:left;" , Independent and others , 78,133 , , 6.86 , , 2.21 , , 142 , , 5 , , - , - , style="text-align:left;background-color:#E9E9E9" colspan="3", Total (turnout 38.83%) , width="75" style="text-align:right;background-color:#E9E9E9", 1,138,358 , width="30" style="text-align:right;background-color:#E9E9E9", 100.0 , style="text-align:right;background-color:#E9E9E9", - , style="text-align:right;background-color:#E9E9E9", 907 , style="text-align:right;background-color:#E9E9E9", 405 , style="text-align:right;background-color:#E9E9E9", 5

Results by district

Vote summary

Seat summary

Overview

Without a major political issue like the last election in 2003, the voter turnout significantly dropped about six percentage point to only about 38%, although a total of 1.4 million voters cast their ballots, 80,000 more than the last elections. A total number of 886 candidates contesting in 364 seats, while 41 seats were without contest. The

(DAB) received the largest victory in its history by winning 115 seats, nearly double than the 2003 results. The party vice-chairman

who lost to Cyd Ho in 2003 in his Kwun Lung constituency retook his seat by large margin. Kenny Lee Kwun-yee received a large number of votes in

Tai Fat Hau Tai or TAI may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tai (comics) a fictional Marvel Comics supervillain *Tai Fraiser, a fictional character in the 1995 film '' Clueless'' * Tai Kamiya, a fictional character in ''Digimon'' Businesses * Avianca El S ...

, defeating pro-democratic candidate Ivy Chan Siu-ping of the

. Incumbent legislators

Choy So-yuk Choy So-yuk, BBS, JP (, born 10 October 1950) is a Hong Kong politician. She was an elected member of Eastern District Council and a Hong Kong Deputy of the National People’s Congress. From 1997 to 2008 she was a member of the Legislative ...

, Li Kwok-ying and Wong Yung-kan all retained their seats in Kam Ping, Tai Po Market and Po Nga respectively. The

suffered a devastating defeat in the election. The Democratic Party was beaten in every region especially in Kowloon, losing almost half of the seats as compared to the 2003 elections. Veteran Chan Ka-wai in Whampoa East was ousted by Priscilla Leung, a pro-Beijing law scholar at the

backed by the

(FTU). In Sheung Shun, incumbent Law Chun-ngai was defeated by Fu Pik-chun of the DAB by 1,220 votes. Former Democratic Party secretary Cheung Yin-tung also lost his seat in Wang King to DAB newcomer Yiu Kwok-wai by 1,321 to 1,684 votes. The

failed to challenge the pro-Beijing candidates, winning only 8 seats out of 41 candidates. The party's rising star Yu Kwun-wai lost in a large margin to DAB's Bernard Chan in Ping Shek, while Civic legislator Mandy Tam lost her seat to Choi Luk-sing in Lung Sing. The

(ADPL) who had stronghold in

also saw its candidate Leung Kam-tao lost his seat in

Yau Yat Tsuen Yau Yat Tsuen or Yau Yat Chuen () is one of the very few low density upscale neighbourhoods in the central urban area of Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is located in North Kowloon, at the foot of Beacon Hill. An electoral constituency of Sham Shui Po ...

to pro-Beijing independent Jimmy Kwok Chun-wah. Richard Tsoi of the

(CTU) who took the seat in

Fo Tan Fo Tan () is an area of Sha Tin District, New Territories, Hong Kong. It was developed as a light industrial area, but this activity has declined markedly in recent years. There are residential areas to the east, alongside the MTR line, and in t ...

in 2003 failed to retain his seat, being beaten by Scarlet Pong Oi-lan of the New Century Forum.

Aftermath

In December 2007,

named 102 government-appointed Council members, of which all of them had pro-government background and one-fifth of them were members of the

(DAB) and the

. 15 of them were appointed for the third time. Tsang was criticised for not appointing a single member of the pan-democrats.Frank Ching, "Tsang grooms his kind of political talent", Pg A12, ''

South China Morning Post The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remaine ...

'', 24 June 2008

References

{{Hong Kong elections 2007 elections in China 2007 in Hong Kong

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

November 2007 in China