The Reform Club of Hong Kong was one of the oldest political organisations in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, existing from 1949 until the mid-1990s. Established by expatriates who were concerned about the

Young Plan The Young Plan was a 1929 attempt to settle issues surrounding the World War I reparations obligations that Germany owed under the terms of Treaty of Versailles. Developed to replace the 1924 Dawes Plan, the Young Plan was negotiated in Paris f ...

proposed by

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Mark Aitchison Young Sir Mark Aitchison Young ( zh, t=楊慕琦; 30 June 1886 – 12 May 1974) was a British colonial administrator, who is best remembered for his service as the Governor of Hong Kong at the time of the Battle of Hong Kong, Japanese invasion of t ...

in 1949, the Reform Club was the first semi-political party to contest in the

Urban Council The Urban Council (UrbCo) was a municipal council in Hong Kong responsible for municipal services on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon (including New Kowloon). These services were provided by the council's executive arm, the Urban Services ...

elections, with its longtime chairman Brook Bernacchi serving on the Council for about forty years. It demanded expansion of the power of the Urban Council and elected representatives in the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

for years. Together with the Hong Kong Civic Association, they were the closest to opposition parties in Hong Kong active in the municipal electoral politics during the post-war colonial period. With the expansion of the franchise in the 1980s, the Reform Club gradually declined and was replaced by the more energetic political groups. The Club ceased to function after its chairman Bernacchi retired from the Urban Council in 1995.

History

The Reform Club was founded by

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Brook Bernacchi in 1949 in the midst of the debate over the

, a plan for wide constitutional reform in Hong Kong. The immediate target of the Club was to campaign for direct elections to the

Legislative Council of Hong Kong The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, colloquially known as LegCo, is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Hong Kong. It sits under People's Republic of China, China's "one country, two systems" c ...

. Unlike the Hong Kong Chinese Reform Association, which was set up during the same time for similar causes, the Reform Club was dominated by expatriates. For decades the Reform Club and the Civic Association dominated municipal politics as they provided most of the elected members of the

. It advocated more representative government in the territory and the improvement of public sector social services. In 1960, the two groups formed a coalition and sent a delegate to London to demand direct elections to the Legislative Council. The Reform Club adopted a modest stance amid the 1966 riots, opposing violent actions from both protesters and the police. In 1979, the Reform Club threatened to boycott elections if the Urban Council would not receive a majority of elected members and universal franchise was extended to all Hong Kong citizens. In 1982, it took part in the elections for the newly established district boards in the urban districts, which significantly extended the franchise. Starting from the late 1960s, the Club's ability to monopolise Urban Council elections with the Civic Association eroded, in light of the emergence of the popular independent candidates. Before the expansion of the franchise, the Reform Club had 15 members in the Urban Council of 1983. But the Reform Club's influence in the Urban Council reduced during the 1980s. Following the 1989 municipal elections, only five Reform Club members remained due to its lack of grassroots support. The Reform Club and Civic Association were gradually supplanted by the new pro-democracy groups including the Hong Kong Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood and Meeting Point. When at the 1995 municipal elections Brook Bernacchi retired, the Reform Club ceased to be active in the Hong Kong political scene.

Notable members

* Brook Bernacchi (founder) * Alison Bell * Chan Shu-woon * Elsie Elliott (later known as Elsie Tu) * Henry Hu * Kan Yuet Keung * Charles Edgar Loseby * Cecilia Yeung

Election performance

Municipal elections

District Board/Council elections

References

External links

Hong Kong Newspaper Clippings Online
{{Hong Kong political parties 1949 establishments in Hong Kong 1995 establishments in Hong Kong Defunct political parties in Hong Kong Liberalism in Hong Kong Political parties disestablished in 1995 Political parties established in 1949