CALD accepts Martin Lee of Hong Kong as Individual Member

(Bangkok/December 12, 2003) M.R. Sukhumbhand Paribatra formally announced the decision of the Executive Committee of the Council of Asian Liberals & Democrats to accept Dr. Martin Lee, MP, founding chair of the Democratic Party of Hong Kong, as a CALD member in his individual capacity. The acceptance was based from the unanimous decision of the membership committee composed of MP Sam Rainsy of the Sam Rainy Party of Cambodia, Representative Florencio Abad of the Liberal Party of the Philippines and Dr. Chee Soon Juan of the Singapore Democratic Party.

During the Executive Committee Meeting on June 15, 2002, in Jakarta, Indonesia, there was a proposal to revise the CALD charter to accept individual members (CALD membership was then solely by political party or organization).  The proposed amendment was ratified during the General Assembly held in Bentota, Sri Lanka on May 31, 2003.

Dr. Martin Lee is the first individual member of CALD.

Profile of Martin Lee Chu-ming from the CALD publication, A Decade of Liberal Democracy in Asia

On July 1, 1997, the day Britain officially handed over Hong Kong back to China, Martin Lee Chu-ming stood at the balcony of the Legislative Council and made a speech. He was about to lose his seat at the Council, but it was clear Lee wasn’t saying goodbye.

Hong Kong’s new Chinese rulers were abolishing the Legco to make way for a provisional body, and there were fears this was just going to be the beginning of changes that could curtail the rights of the people of the former British colony. But the head of the Democratic Party had a plan. “We announce our party’s intention to stay in Hong Kong,” said Lee. “We are prepared to defend the freedoms we cherish. And we are prepared to work with China to build a better future for Hong Kong and for China. We pledge to continue to be the voice of the Hong Kong people — in or out of office — and to fight to get democracy back.”

“As we stand here this early morning in democratic solidarity,” Lee continued, “we declare that Hong Kong people want democracy — they have seen it work. The flame of democracy has been ignited and is burning in the hearts of our people. It will not be extinguished. Nay, it will only grow stronger. We say to those of you gathered here and to Hong Kong’s friends around the world: WE SHALL RETURN!”

A year later, when the people of Hong Kong were once more able to vote for their legislators, Lee and many of his fellow DP members were back at Legco. In fact, they won two-thirds of the popular vote, although the new rules enabled them to take only a third of the council.

Lee and his fellow democrats didn’t forget the promise they made in 1997. In and out of the Legco, they have worked to keep Beijing as true to its own pledge of “one country, two systems.” This has not proved easy as Beijing seemed to be taking a decidedly different tack in its handling of Hong Kong. Yet even with funds that were no match to those of Beijing-backed politicians, Lee and his cohorts kept reminding the public – and Beijing – that the freedoms enjoyed by the people had been meant to stay, and for the rule of law to be respected.

In many ways, the latter has a special place in Lee’s heart. A lawyer by profession, Lee has sat in the Legco since 1985. He also served as a member of the drafting committee of the Basic Law, which would become Hong Kong’s constitution after the handover. (He was, however, relieved of that post in 1989, in the crackdown following the Tiananmen Square incident.)

In 1995, the American Bar Association awarded Lee with the International Human Rights Award “in recognition of his extraordinary contribution to human rights, the rule of law, and the promotion of justice.” It would be the first of many international awards for him. The following year, Lee got the Prize for Freedom from Liberal International. In 1997, the U.S. National Endowment for Democracy gave him the Democracy Award. So far, he has also received the Statesmanship Award from the Claremont Institute, as well as the Schumann Medal from the European People’s Party and the European Democrats.

But Lee, now 65, seems proudest of his people’s emerging determination to stand up for their rights. During the sixth anniversary of the Hong Kong handover, about half a million people joined a march against a Beijing-backed anti-subversion bill. The protest was unprecedented in Hong Kong; the bill has since been set aside.

Lee saw deeper implications. He wrote shortly afterwards, “On the face of every person, I saw hope. It is often said that the people of Hong Kong are apolitical and only interested in making money. But on that summer afternoon, they marched for democracy and freedom, for themselves and for their children. In the process, they turned history back towards its intended direction.”

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This post was written by CALD