Martin Lee
Encyclopedia
Martin Lee QC
, SC
, JP
, was the founding chairman (1994–2002) of the Democratic Party in Hong Kong
. He was a directly-elected Member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong
(LegCo) for the Hong Kong Island geographical constituency. Professionally he is a barrister
-at-law, the first on the order of precedence
of Senior Counsel
s in Hong Kong.
Lee has been prominent figure of the Hong Kong democracy movement on the international stage, especially in the United States. He is a controversial figure in Hong Kong. To human rights activists he has been labelled the "Father of Democracy" in Hong Kong. To Beijing officials, he has been labelled a "running dog of the colonialists".
After being a member of the Legislative Council for 23 years, Lee announced on 27 March 2008 that he would not seek re-election when his term ended in September of that year.
. He is the son of a former Kuomintang
major general. After he graduated from Wah Yan College, Kowloon
, Lee obtained his undergraduate BA degree in Philosophy
at the University of Hong Kong. After graduation, he worked as a teacher for three years. He then studied law at Lincoln's Inn
in London.
from 1980 to 1983. He was a LegCo
member from 1985 to 1997.
Drafting Committee until he was forced to leave the committee immediately after the infamous Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
. He speculated that the long-term trends in the PRC
were not in favour of moving towards democracy and human rights
. Lee's activism to renew the momentum behind the Chinese democracy movement
has stalled since 1989. Most notable is Lee's call for the overthrow of mainland China's leadership. His role in leading the protest in Hong Kong have led him to be banned from visiting mainland China
. The only exception was made during a brief 2005 visit to Guangdong
province.
(UDHK) since its establishment in 1991, and retained his chairmanship when the group was transformed into the Democratic Party
in 1994. He was succeeded in the position by Yeung Sum
in 2001. In the run up to the 1997 transfer of Hong Kong to mainland China
, Lee was an outspoken critic of China's policy towards Hong Kong and a supporter of the political reform of the last Governor
Chris Patten
, who said later that "Hong Kong was lucky to have him".
Internationally he became an icon for fighting the Chinese government
for more democracy in Hong Kong, and was recognised and awarded by a number of international organisations, including the "1995 International Human Rights Award" by the American Bar Association
, the Prize For Freedom
by the Liberal International
in 1996, the "Democracy Award" by the United States' National Endowment for Democracy
in 1997, and the "Schuman Medal" in 2000 which Lee was the first non-European to receive from the European Peoples Party and European Democrats
.
, which allowed the US Government to give Hong Kong special economic treatments that differ from mainland China. Under the act the US is committed to support democratic institutions in Hong Kong, and could terminate Hong Kong's special economic treatment if the US President considers Hong Kong is not autonomous enough to justify such treatments. Tung Chee-hwa countered the generally negative image of Hong Kong under Communist Party
rule, and said Lee was "bad mouthing" the Special Administrative Region in front of the international audience.
criticising People's Republic of China for not living up to its promise to improve its human rights status during the Chinese Olympic bid. However, Lee urged the West, particularly United States, not to boycott the 2008 Olympic games
, and instead take the opportunity when China is opening itself up to the world, to directly engage China in efforts to bring China closer to the international community in terms of its human rights. His article was somehow being twisted and words like "direct engagement" was translated to Chinese equivalent of "intervene", and some media even claimed that Lee asked United States to boycott the games. This immediately stirred backlash from Beijing loyalists, who virtually accused Lee of being a hanjian
. On 27 October the Democratic Party issued an announcement to newspapers setting out the party's position regarding the article Lee published. Chairman Albert Ho
reiterated, "It is not an apology, but a clear declaration of what we stand for."
at the earliest possible date is destructive to the local business climate and political stability.
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Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
, SC
Senior Counsel
The title of Senior Counsel or State Counsel is given to a senior barrister or advocate in some countries, typically equivalent to the title "Queen's Counsel" used in Commonwealth Realms...
, JP
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
, was the founding chairman (1994–2002) of the Democratic Party in Hong Kong
Democratic Party (Hong Kong)
The Democratic Party is a pro-democracy political party in Hong Kong. It was established on 2 October 1994. The party is currently the second largest party in the Legislative Council, headed by Chairman Albert Ho Chun-yan and, following the November 2008 merger with the Frontier, had around 745...
. He was a directly-elected Member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong
Legislative Council of Hong Kong
The Legislative Council is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong.-History:The Legislative Council of Hong Kong was set up in 1843 as a colonial legislature under British rule...
(LegCo) for the Hong Kong Island geographical constituency. Professionally he is a barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
-at-law, the first on the order of precedence
Order of precedence
An order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of nominal importance of items. Most often it is used in the context of people by many organizations and governments...
of Senior Counsel
Senior Counsel
The title of Senior Counsel or State Counsel is given to a senior barrister or advocate in some countries, typically equivalent to the title "Queen's Counsel" used in Commonwealth Realms...
s in Hong Kong.
Lee has been prominent figure of the Hong Kong democracy movement on the international stage, especially in the United States. He is a controversial figure in Hong Kong. To human rights activists he has been labelled the "Father of Democracy" in Hong Kong. To Beijing officials, he has been labelled a "running dog of the colonialists".
After being a member of the Legislative Council for 23 years, Lee announced on 27 March 2008 that he would not seek re-election when his term ended in September of that year.
Biography
Lee was born in Hong Kong, the sixth of seven children, and raised in GuangzhouGuangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
. He is the son of a former Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
major general. After he graduated from Wah Yan College, Kowloon
Wah Yan College, Kowloon
Wah Yan College, Kowloon is a Latin Rite Catholic secondary school for boys, located at 56 Waterloo Road, Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon...
, Lee obtained his undergraduate BA degree in Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
at the University of Hong Kong. After graduation, he worked as a teacher for three years. He then studied law at Lincoln's Inn
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn. Although Lincoln's Inn is able to trace its official records beyond...
in London.
Early career
Lee was appointed Queen's Counsel of Hong Kong in 1979, and was the chairman of the Hong Kong Bar AssociationHong Kong Bar Association
The Hong Kong Bar Association is the professional regulatory body for barristers in Hong Kong, and was founded in 1949. Like other professional bodies, the HKBA has the authority to take disciplinary action to the members who breach the Code of Conduct of the Association...
from 1980 to 1983. He was a LegCo
Legislative Council of Hong Kong
The Legislative Council is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong.-History:The Legislative Council of Hong Kong was set up in 1843 as a colonial legislature under British rule...
member from 1985 to 1997.
Leaving Basic Law draft committee
From 1985 to 1989 Lee was a member of the Hong Kong Basic LawHong Kong Basic Law
The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, or simply Hong Kong Basic Law, serves as the constitutional document of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China...
Drafting Committee until he was forced to leave the committee immediately after the infamous Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, also known as the June Fourth Incident in Chinese , were a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the People's Republic of China beginning on 15 April 1989...
. He speculated that the long-term trends in the PRC
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
were not in favour of moving towards democracy and human rights
Human rights in the People's Republic of China
Human rights in the People's Republic of China are a matter of dispute between the Chinese government, other countries, international NGOs, and dissidents inside the country. Organizations such as the U.S. State Department, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch have accused the Chinese...
. Lee's activism to renew the momentum behind the Chinese democracy movement
Chinese democracy movement
The Chinese democracy movement refers to a series of loosely organized political movements in the People's Republic of China against the continued one-party rule by the Communist Party. One such movement began during the Beijing Spring in 1978 and was taken up again in the Tiananmen Square...
has stalled since 1989. Most notable is Lee's call for the overthrow of mainland China's leadership. His role in leading the protest in Hong Kong have led him to be banned from visiting mainland China
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
. The only exception was made during a brief 2005 visit to Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
province.
Democracy icon
He chaired the Hong Kong Consumer Council from 1988 to 1991. Lee also chaired the United Democrats of Hong KongUnited Democrats of Hong Kong
The United Democrats of Hong Kong was a pro-democracy political party in Hong Kong. By 1995 it was merged with the Meeting Point to form the Democratic Party...
(UDHK) since its establishment in 1991, and retained his chairmanship when the group was transformed into the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (Hong Kong)
The Democratic Party is a pro-democracy political party in Hong Kong. It was established on 2 October 1994. The party is currently the second largest party in the Legislative Council, headed by Chairman Albert Ho Chun-yan and, following the November 2008 merger with the Frontier, had around 745...
in 1994. He was succeeded in the position by Yeung Sum
Yeung Sum
Yeung Sum SBS JP is the second Chairman of the Democratic Party , a pro-democracy political party in Hong Kong. He is a lecturer in the University of Hong Kong. He was a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong.-Biography:...
in 2001. In the run up to the 1997 transfer of Hong Kong to mainland China
Transfer of the sovereignty of Hong Kong
The transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China, referred to as ‘the Return’ or ‘the Reunification’ by the Chinese and ‘the Handover’ by others, took place on 1 July 1997...
, Lee was an outspoken critic of China's policy towards Hong Kong and a supporter of the political reform of the last Governor
Governor of Hong Kong
The Governor of Hong Kong was the head of the government of Hong Kong during British rule from 1843 to 1997. The governor's roles were defined in the Hong Kong Letters Patent and Royal Instructions...
Chris Patten
Chris Patten
Christopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes, CH, PC , is the last Governor of British Hong Kong, a former British Conservative politician, and the current chairman of the BBC Trust....
, who said later that "Hong Kong was lucky to have him".
Internationally he became an icon for fighting the Chinese government
Government of the People's Republic of China
All power within the government of the People's Republic of China is divided among three bodies: the People's Republic of China, State Council, and the People's Liberation Army . This article is concerned with the formal structure of the state, its departments and their responsibilities...
for more democracy in Hong Kong, and was recognised and awarded by a number of international organisations, including the "1995 International Human Rights Award" by the American Bar Association
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
, the Prize For Freedom
Prize For Freedom
The Prize For Freedom is an annual prize presented by the Liberal International since 1985. With the prize the organization honors an individual which has made an outstanding contribution to human rights and political freedoms.-Awards:* 1985 - Raúl Alfonsín...
by the Liberal International
Liberal International
Liberal International is a political international federation for liberal parties. Its headquarters is located at 1 Whitehall Place, London, SW1A 2HD within the National Liberal Club. It was founded in Oxford in 1947, and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal parties and for the...
in 1996, the "Democracy Award" by the United States' National Endowment for Democracy
National Endowment for Democracy
The National Endowment for Democracy, or NED, is a U.S. non-profit organization that was founded in 1983 to promote US-friendly democracy by providing cash grants funded primarily through an annual allocation from the U.S. Congress...
in 1997, and the "Schuman Medal" in 2000 which Lee was the first non-European to receive from the European Peoples Party and European Democrats
European Democrats
The European Democrats was a loose association of conservative political parties in Europe. It is a political group in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe...
.
Defending HK special international status
Lee supported the overseas governments legitimate concern over the situation in Hong Kong. He cited the 1992 US-HK policy actUnited States-Hong Kong Policy Act
The United States-Hong Kong Policy Act or more commonly known as the Hong Kong Policy Act is a 1992 act enacted by the United States Congress...
, which allowed the US Government to give Hong Kong special economic treatments that differ from mainland China. Under the act the US is committed to support democratic institutions in Hong Kong, and could terminate Hong Kong's special economic treatment if the US President considers Hong Kong is not autonomous enough to justify such treatments. Tung Chee-hwa countered the generally negative image of Hong Kong under Communist Party
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
rule, and said Lee was "bad mouthing" the Special Administrative Region in front of the international audience.
Improving PRC human rights via Olympic
In October 2007, Lee published an article named "China's Olympic Opportunity" in The Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
criticising People's Republic of China for not living up to its promise to improve its human rights status during the Chinese Olympic bid. However, Lee urged the West, particularly United States, not to boycott the 2008 Olympic games
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
, and instead take the opportunity when China is opening itself up to the world, to directly engage China in efforts to bring China closer to the international community in terms of its human rights. His article was somehow being twisted and words like "direct engagement" was translated to Chinese equivalent of "intervene", and some media even claimed that Lee asked United States to boycott the games. This immediately stirred backlash from Beijing loyalists, who virtually accused Lee of being a hanjian
Hanjian
In Chinese culture, a Hanjian is a derogatory and pejorative term for a race traitor to the Han Chinese nation or state, and to a lesser extent, Han ethnicity. The word Hanjian is distinct from the general word for traitor, which could be used for any race or country...
. On 27 October the Democratic Party issued an announcement to newspapers setting out the party's position regarding the article Lee published. Chairman Albert Ho
Albert Ho
Albert Ho Chun-yan . He is currently secretary general of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China and chairman of the Democratic Party. He is a solicitor and a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong....
reiterated, "It is not an apology, but a clear declaration of what we stand for."
Criticism
As early as 1992 The People's Republic of China warned then Hong Kong governor Chris Patten, that Lee must not be appointed to the Executive Council. The pro-Beijing camp have since called Lee a "traitor of China" in 2004 upon his return from Washington D.C. His patriotism toward China has been questioned along with his Chinese identity. Lee's father is connected to the Nationalist Party of China. Some have complained the democratic movement have gone too far and his staunch stance in favour of universal suffrageUniversal suffrage
Universal suffrage consists of the extension of the right to vote to adult citizens as a whole, though it may also mean extending said right to minors and non-citizens...
at the earliest possible date is destructive to the local business climate and political stability.
See also
- Politics of Hong KongPolitics of Hong KongPolitics of Hong Kong takes place in a framework of a political system dominated by its constitutional document, the Basic Law of Hong Kong, its own legislature, the Chief Executive as the head of government, and of a multi-party system...
- Anson ChanAnson ChanAnson Maria Elizabeth Chan Fang On-sang GBM GCMG CBE JP was a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong for Hong Kong Island, succeeding the late legislator Ma Lik....
- List of graduates of University of Hong Kong
External links
- 1992 U.S.–Hong Kong Policy Act
- Expert addresses Hong Kong political system The Daily CardinalThe Daily CardinalThe Daily Cardinal is a student newspaper that serves the University of Wisconsin–Madison community. The sixth oldest daily student newspaper in the country, it began publishing on Monday, April 4, 1892...
- Biography on liberal-international.org
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