Club Lunch: What Is The Future For Hong Kong’s Young Democratic Politicians?

Thursday, June 16, 2016
12:30pm for 12:45pm – lunch
1:15pm – address
1st Floor

Speaker: Martin Lee, Queen’s Counsel
Founding Chairman, The Democratic Party
Former Legislative Council Member

Many have doubts about Hong Kong’s young democratic politicians. But Martin Lee, one of Hong Kong’s first ever elected legislators, says we have nothing to worry about. Indeed, he believes we should be proud of them. As for their mistakes, Lee asks: “Did we not make mistakes?”

Martin C.M. Lee (Lee Chu Ming) is the founding Chairman (1994 – 2002) of the Democratic Party in Hong Kong.  Mr. Lee’s stance is that Hong Kong must develop democratic institutions and preserve freedom, human rights and the rule of law if the territory is to continue to prosper as part of China.A barrister, Mr. Lee was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1979 and was chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association from 1980-1983.   He was first elected to the Legislative Council in 1985 and has been overwhelmingly re-elected in every election since.   He served from 1985 -1989 as a member of the Basic Law Drafting Committee, the body appointed by Beijing to draft Hong Kong’s post-1997 constitution, until his expulsion following the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown.