ABSTRACT
A hopeful sign toward further development of Hong Kong's democratic pluralistic politics emerged in the early hours of July 16, 1992. To many democratic advocates, the alliance of the People's Republic of China's regime, local pro-Beijing grassroots organs and conservative business elites, with an unprincipled colonial sunset regime, reversed and betrayed the promise of representative democracy. Even with Beijing opposition to Legco direct elections, the British could have advanced the decolonization-democratization process by reforming other areas of the colonial power structure not restricted by the Basic Law exercise. An honest and clean campaign buttressed by an acceptable voter turnout at nearly 40 percent made the 1991 Legco direct election a success, vindicating the struggle for direct elections and fuller, faster democratization. The Tiananmen democracy movement energized Hong Kong's democratic movement. The local anti-democratic elements seek to counterbalance the directly elected democratic bloc and its claim to popular legitimacy.
