SOSC A101 Social Sciences: A Foundation Course
Assignment 2

Question: a What is a political party? b ‘Political parties are powerless in Hong Kong because they cannot form government and make policies.’ Discuss.

Student name: Lam Tsz Ho
Student no: S11421101

Introduction

In this year, Occupy Central arouses a lot of controversies. It is a civil disobedience movement which began in Hong Kong on September 28, 2014. It calls on thousands of protesters to block roads and paralyse Hong Kong's financial district if the Beijing and Hong Kong governments do not agree to implement universal suffrage for the chief executive election in 2017 and the Legislative Council elections in 2020 according to “international standards”. Many people said …show more content…

There has been change from the late colonial period to the SAR period. Before 1980s, political society was almost non-existent in Hong Kong. After the Joint Committee for the Promotion of Democratic Government formed in 1986, there was a 1991 Legco election. It was a formal opportunity for the population to elect their own representatives. Many conservatives stood as “independents” although they had organizational support from conservative and pro-Beijing community groups. But now, the parties exert more political influence and effecting government policy changes.

To what extent have their policy agendas been enacted or their social functions fulfilled?

If a political party wants to enact its policy agenda, it must get the majority control of the Legislative Council. However, the directly elected members are not make up more than 50%. 50% were elected by functional constituencies. It means that political parties need to cooperate with functional constituencies. They are not easy to work with because functional representative are accountable to their small electorates.

Compare the roles of political parties in modern democracy and those in Hong Kong, and explain the causes of the latter’s limitations.

In modern democracy,

‘For the electorate, parties simplify choices, provide education and socialization to participate in politics and public affairs. As organizations, political parties