ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the popular elections held since 1991 and the subsequent emergence of the embryonic electoral market in Hong kong. It discusses the landscape of the Hong Kong electoral market. The chapter examines the first-ever 1991 LegCo popular elections and the interaction of the participants. It explores the last effort made by the British government in framing the electoral system for the 1994-95 election cycle and China's reaction. It discusses a comparison of vote share of the leading political parties of the first Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) LegCo elections held in 1998. The Hong Kong government had put enormous efforts into the 1991 popular elections so as to ensure its success. The significance of success would not only help to prove the wisdom of introducing popular elections but also provide a chip for London to bargain with Beijing that more popularly-elected seats should be introduced before 1997.
