# 1st Legislative Council of Hong Kong

The First Legislative Council of Hong Kong was the first meeting of the legislative branch of the HKSAR government after the handover of Hong Kong, replacing the Provisional Legislative Council existing between 1997 and 1998. The membership of the LegCo is based on the 1998 election. It had the shortest term of the session was from 1 July 1998 to 30 June 2000, only two years unlike the latter legislative session of four years. The legislature was held during the first term of the Tung Chee-hwa's administration. The pro-democracy camp who did not participate in the Provisional Legislative Council held 20 seats with Democratic Party being the largest party. Notable newcomers to the Legislative Council included Cyd Ho, Bernard Chan, Lui Ming-wah, and Wong Yung-kan.

## Major events

* 12 December 1999: The Legislative Council passed the controversial Provision of Municipal Services (Reorganization) Bill to repeal the two provisional municipal councils, the Urban Council and Regional Council.

## Major legislation
### Enacted

* 12 December 1999: Provision of Municipal Services (Reorganization) Bill

## Composition

| 1843–1941 Legco | |
| 1946–1985 Legco | |
| 1985–1988 LegCo | (1985) |
| 1988–1991 LegCo | (1988) |
| 1991–1995 LegCo | (1991) |
| 1995–1997 LegCo | (1995) |
| Provisional LegCo | (1996) |
| 1st LegCo | (1998) |
| 2nd LegCo | (2000) |
| 3rd LegCo | (2004) |
| 4th LegCo | (2008) |
| 5th LegCo | (2012) |
| 6th LegCo | (2016) |
| 7th LegCo | (2021) |
| Affiliation | Election | At dissolution |
| Liberal Party | 10 | 10 |
| Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB) | 9 | 10 |
| Hong Kong Progressive Alliance | 5 | 6 |
| Breakfast Group | 5 | 5 |
| New Century Forum | 0 | 2 |
| Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions (FLU) | 1 | 1 |
| Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (FTU) | 1 | 0 |
| Pro-Beijing Independent | 9 | 5 |
| Total for Pro-Beijing camp | 40 | 39 |
| Democratic Party | 13 | 12 |
| The Frontier | 3 | 3 |
| Citizens Party | 1 | 1 |
| Neighbourhood and Worker's Service Centre (NWSC) | 1 | 1 |
| Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (CTU) | 0 | 1 |
| Independent Democrat | 2 | 2 |
| Total for Pro-democracy camp | 20 | 20 |
| Total | 60 | 59 |
| Vacant | 0 | 1 |

## Graphical representation of the Legislative Council

* Vacant seat
Pro-democracy camp:
* NSWC
* Frontier
* Citizens Party
* CTU
* Democratic Party
* Independents
Pro-Beijing camp:
* Liberal Party
* New Forum
* Progressive Alliance
* DAB
* FLU
* Independents

## Leadership

| Office | Party | Officer | Officer | Constituency | Since |
| President | Independent | | Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai | Election Committee | 1998 |

## List of members

The following table is a list of LegCo members elected on 24 May 1998 in the order of precedence.
Members who did not serve throughout the term are italicised. New members elected since the general election are noted at the bottom of the page.
Key to changes since legislative election:
    $^a$ = change in party allegiance
    $^b$ = by-election
    $^c$ = other change
| Selection Method | Constituency | Elected Members | Elected Party | Political Alignment | Born | Occupation(s) |
| EC | Election Committee | Rita Fan | Independent | Pro-Beijing | (1945-09-20)20 September 1945 | Legislative Councillor |
| FC | Industrial (First) | Kenneth Ting | Liberal | Pro-Beijing | (1942-08-21)21 August 1942 | Company Chairman |
| FC | Commercial (First) | James Tien | Liberal | Pro-Beijing | (1947-01-08)8 January 1947 | Company Chairman |
| EC | Election Committee | David Chu | Progressive Alliance | Pro-Beijing | (1943-03-05)5 March 1943 | Company Chairman Company Director |
| EC | Election Committee | Ho Sai-chu | Liberal | Pro-Beijing | (1937-06-06)6 June 1937 | Director and General Manager |
| GC | New Territories East | Cyd Ho | Frontier | Pro-democracy | (1954-07-24)24 July 1954 | Social Activist |
| FC | Architectural, Surveying and Planning | Edward Ho | Liberal | Pro-Beijing | (1938-12-02)2 December 1938 | Managing Director |
| GC | New Territories West | Albert Ho | Democratic | Pro-democracy | (1951-12-01)1 December 1951 | Solicitor and Notary Public Legislative Councillor |
| FC | Health Services | Michael Ho | Democratic | Pro-democracy | (1955-11-06)6 November 1955 | Registered Nurse |
| FC | Engineering | Raymond Ho | Breakfast Group | Pro-Beijing | (1939-03-23)23 March 1939 | Engineer |
| GC | New Territories West | Lee Wing-tat | Democratic | Pro-democracy | (1955-12-25)25 December 1955 | Lecturer |
| GC | New Territories West | Lee Cheuk-yan | Frontier$^a$ | Pro-democracy | (1957-02-12)12 February 1957 | Legislative Councillor |
| GC | Hong Kong Island | Martin Lee | Democratic | Pro-democracy | (1938-06-08)8 June 1938 | Barrister-at-law |
| FC | Accountancy | Eric Li | Breakfast Group | Pro-Beijing | (1953-05-23)23 May 1953 | Accountant |
| FC | Labour | Lee Kai-ming | FLU | Pro-Beijing | (1937-10-11)11 October 1937 | Legislative Councillor |
| FC | Finance | David Li | Independent | Pro-Beijing | (1939-03-13)13 March 1939 | Banker |
| GC | Kowloon East | Fred Li | Democratic | Pro-democracy | (1955-04-25)25 April 1955 | Legislative Councillor |
| FC | Industrial (Second) | Lui Ming-wah | Independent | Pro-Beijing | (1937-04-04)4 April 1937 | Businessman |
| EC | Election Committee | Ng Leung-sing | Breakfast Group | Pro-Beijing | (1949-07-11)11 July 1949 | Banker |
| EC | Election Committee | Ng Ching-fai | Independent$^a$ | Pro-Beijing | (1939-11-20)20 November 1939 | Dean and Chair Professor |
| FC | Legal | Margaret Ng | Independent | Pro-democracy | (1948-01-25)25 January 1948 | Barrister-at-law |
| FC | Wholesale and Retail | Selina Chow | Liberal | Pro-Beijing | (1945-01-25)25 January 1945 | Legislative Councillor |
| FC | Real Estate and Construction | Ronald Arculli | Liberal | Pro-Beijing | (1939-01-02)2 January 1939 | Solicitor |
| EC | Election Committee | Ma Fung-kwok | Independent$^a$ | Pro-Beijing | (1955-07-22)22 July 1955 | Managing Director |
| GC | Kowloon West | James To | Democratic | Pro-democracy | (1963-03-11)11 March 1963 | Solicitor |
| FC | Education | Cheung Man-kwong | Democratic/PTU | Pro-democracy | (1954-09-15)15 September 1954 | Teacher Legislative Councillor |
| FC | Urban Council | Ambrose Cheung$^c$ | Independent | Pro-Beijing | (1951-01-10)10 January 1951 | Lawyer Company Director |
| FC | Import and Export | Hui Cheung-ching | Progressive Alliance | Pro-Beijing | (1942-09-04)4 September 1942 | Company Director |
| GC | Hong Kong Island | Christine Loh | Citizens | Pro-democracy | (1956-02-01)1 February 1956 | Politician |
| FC | Labour | Chan Kwok-keung | FTU$^a$ | Pro-Beijing | (1946-01-17)17 January 1946 | Associate Director |
| GC | Kowloon East | Chan Yuen-han | DAB | Pro-Beijing | (1946-11-15)15 November 1946 | Labour Service |
| FC | Insurance | Bernard Chan | Breakfast Group | Pro-Beijing | (1965-01-11)11 January 1965 | Company President |
| FC | Labour | Chan Wing-chan | DAB | Pro-Beijing | (1935-07-07)7 July 1935 | Legislative Councillor |
| GC | Kowloon East | Chan Kam-lam | DAB | Pro-Beijing | (1949-01-22)22 January 1949 | Legislative Councillor |
| FC | Medical | Leong Che-hung | Breakfast Group | Pro-Beijing | (1939-04-23)23 April 1939 | Medical Doctor |
| FC | Textiles and Garment | Sophie Leung | Liberal | Pro-Beijing | (1945-10-09)9 October 1945 | Company Director |
| GC | New Territories West | Leung Yiu-chung | NWSC | Pro-democracy | (1953-05-19)19 May 1953 | Legislative Councillor |
| GC | Hong Kong Island | Gary Cheng | DAB | Pro-Beijing | (1950-05-29)29 May 1950 | Public Relations Consultant |
| FC | Information Technology | Sin Chung-kai | Democratic | Pro-democracy | (1960-06-15)15 June 1960 | Legislative Councillor |
| GC | New Territories East | Andrew Wong | Independent | Pro-democracy | (1943-12-11)11 December 1943 | Professor |
| FC | Commercial (Second) | Philip Wong | Independent | Pro-Beijing | (1938-12-23)23 December 1938 | Company Chairman |
| FC | Agriculture and Fisheries | Wong Yung-kan | DAB | Pro-Beijing | (1951-08-10)10 August 1951 | Legislative Councillor |
| GC | Kowloon West | Jasper Tsang | DAB | Pro-Beijing | (1947-05-14)14 May 1947 | Legislative Councillor |
| FC | Tourism | Howard Young | Liberal | Pro-Beijing | (1948-03-30)30 March 1948 | General Manager |
| GC | Hong Kong Island | Yeung Sum | Democratic | Pro-democracy | (1947-11-22)22 November 1947 | Lecturer |
| EC | Election Committee | Yeung Yiu-chung | DAB | Pro-Beijing | (1951-11-07)7 November 1951 | School Principal |
| FC | Financial Services$^b$ | Chim Pui-chung | Independent | Pro-Beijing | (1946-09-24)24 September 1946 | Company Director |
| GC | Kowloon West | Lau Chin-shek | Democratic$^a$ | Pro-democracy | (1944-09-12)12 September 1944 | Legislative Councillor |
| GC | New Territories East | Lau Kong-wah | DAB | Pro-Beijing | (1957-06-22)22 June 1957 | Legislative Councillor |
| FC | Heung Yee Kuk | Lau Wong-fat | Liberal | Pro-Beijing | (1936-10-15)15 October 1936 | Company Chairman |
| FC | Transport | Miriam Lau | Liberal | Pro-Beijing | (1947-04-27)27 April 1947 | Solicitor and Notary Public |
| EC | Election Committee | Ambrose Lau | Progressive Alliance | Pro-Beijing | (1947-07-16)16 July 1947 | Solicitor and Notary Public |
| GC | New Territories East | Emily Lau | Frontier | Pro-democracy | (1952-01-22)22 January 1952 | Legislative Councillor |
| FC | Regional Council$^b$ | Tang Siu-tong | Progressive Alliance | Pro-Beijing | (1942-09-26)26 September 1942 | Medical Practitioner |
| EC | Election Committee | Choy So-yuk | Progressive Alliance | Pro-Beijing | (1950-10-10)10 October 1950 | Merchant |
| GC | New Territories East | Andrew Cheng | Democratic | Pro-democracy | (1960-04-28)28 April 1960 | Solicitor |
| GC | Kowloon East | Szeto Wah | Democratic | Pro-democracy | (1931-02-28)28 February 1931 | Legislative Councillor |
| FC | Sports, Performing Arts, Culture and Publication | Timothy Fok | Independent | Pro-Beijing | (1946-02-14)14 February 1946 | Merchant |
| FC | Social Welfare | Law Chi-kwong | Democratic | Pro-democracy | (1953-11-01)1 November 1953 | Social Work Teacher |
| GC | New Territories West | Tam Yiu-chung | DAB | Pro-Beijing | (1949-12-15)15 December 1949 | Legislative Councillor |

## By-elections

* 29 October 1998, a by-election was held for Regional Council constituency after some votes were found problematic. Tang Siu-tong won again in the by-election.
* 5 November 1998, Fung Chi-kin replaced Chim Pui-chung in the Financial Services by-election after Chim was found conspiring to forge documents in 1998, whereupon he was impeached and disqualified as a legislator by Legco.

## Other changes
### 1999

* Ma Fung-kwok and Ng Ching-fai (Election Committee) co-founded the New Century Forum on 23 June 1999.

### 2000

* Ambrose Cheung (Urban Council) representing the Provisional Urban Council resigned from the Legislative Council as protest to the government's decision on abolishing the two municipal councils, Urban Council and Regional Council with effect from 1 January 2000.
* Lau Chin-shek (Kowloon West) was expelled from the Democratic Party in May 2000 because of having dual membership of both Democratic Party and The Frontier.

## Committees

| Committee | Chair | Chair | Chair | Vice Chair | Vice Chair | Vice Chair |
| Committee | 1998–1999 | | 1999–2000 | 1998–1999 | | 1999–2000 |
| Committees |||||||||
| Finance Committee Establishment Subcommittee Public Works Subcommittee | Ronald Arculli (Liberal) | Ronald Arculli (Liberal) | Ronald Arculli (Liberal) | Chan Kam-lam (DAB) | Chan Kam-lam (DAB) | Chan Kam-lam (DAB) |
| Finance Committee Establishment Subcommittee Public Works Subcommittee | Philip Wong (Independent) | Philip Wong (Independent) | Philip Wong (Independent) | Ng Leung-sing (Breakfast) | Ng Leung-sing (Breakfast) | Ng Leung-sing (Breakfast) |
| Finance Committee Establishment Subcommittee Public Works Subcommittee | Ho Sai-chu (Liberal) | Ho Sai-chu (Liberal) | Ho Sai-chu (Liberal) | Raymond Ho (Breakfast) | Raymond Ho (Breakfast) | Raymond Ho (Breakfast) |
| Public Accounts Committee | Eric Li (Breakfast) | Eric Li (Breakfast) | Eric Li (Breakfast) | Fred Li (Democratic) | Fred Li (Democratic) | Fred Li (Democratic) |
| Committee on Members' Interests | David Chu (PA) | David Chu (PA) | David Chu (PA) | Sin Chung-kai (Democratic) | Sin Chung-kai (Democratic) | Sin Chung-kai (Democratic) |
| House Committee Parliamentary Liaison Subcommittee | Leong Che-hung (Breakfast) | Leong Che-hung (Breakfast) | Leong Che-hung (Breakfast) | Yeung Sum (Democratic) | Yeung Sum (Democratic) | Yeung Sum (Democratic) |
| House Committee Parliamentary Liaison Subcommittee | Edward Ho (Liberal) | Edward Ho (Liberal) | Edward Ho (Liberal) | Emily Lau (Frontier) | Emily Lau (Frontier) | Emily Lau (Frontier) |
| Committee on Rules of Procedure | Selina Chow (Liberal) | Selina Chow (Liberal) | Selina Chow (Liberal) | Margaret Ng (Independent) | Margaret Ng (Independent) | Margaret Ng (Independent) |
| Panels |||||||||
| Panel on Administration of Justice and Legal Services | Margaret Ng (Independent) | Margaret Ng (Independent) | Margaret Ng (Independent) | Jasper Tsang (DAB) | Jasper Tsang (DAB) | Jasper Tsang (DAB) |
| Panel on Commerce and Industry | Chan Kam-lam (DAB) | Chan Kam-lam (DAB) | Chan Kam-lam (DAB) | Lui Ming-wah (Ind.) | | Kenneth Ting (Liberal) | Kenneth Ting (Liberal) | Kenneth Ting (Liberal) |
| Panel on Constitutional Affairs | Andrew Wong (Independent) | Andrew Wong (Independent) | Andrew Wong (Independent) | Emily Lau (Frontier) | Emily Lau (Frontier) | Emily Lau (Frontier) |
| Panel on Economic Services | James Tien (Liberal) | James Tien (Liberal) | James Tien (Liberal) | Fred Li (Democratic) | Fred Li (Democratic) | Fred Li (Democratic) |
| Panel on Education | Yeung Yiu-chung (DAB) | Yeung Yiu-chung (DAB) | Yeung Yiu-chung (DAB) | Ng Ching-fai (Independent→NCF) | Ng Ching-fai (Independent→NCF) | Ng Ching-fai (Independent→NCF) |
| Panel on Environmental Affairs | Christine Loh (Citizens) | Christine Loh (Citizens) | Christine Loh (Citizens) | Hui Cheung-ching (PA) | Hui Cheung-ching (PA) | Hui Cheung-ching (PA) |
| Panel on Financial Affairs | Ambrose Lau (PA) | Ambrose Lau (PA) | Ambrose Lau (PA) | Eric Li (Breakfast) | Eric Li (Breakfast) | Eric Li (Breakfast) |
| Panel on Health Services | Michael Ho (Democratic) | Michael Ho (Democratic) | Michael Ho (Democratic) | Leong Che-hung (Breakfast) | Leong Che-hung (Breakfast) | Leong Che-hung (Breakfast) |
| Panel on Home Affairs | Choy So-yuk (PA) | Choy So-yuk (PA) | Choy So-yuk (PA) | Albert Ho (Democratic) | Albert Ho (Democratic) | Albert Ho (Democratic) |
| Panel on Housing | Lee Wing-tat (Democratic) | Lee Wing-tat (Democratic) | Lee Wing-tat (Democratic) | Gary Cheng (DAB) | Gary Cheng (DAB) | Gary Cheng (DAB) |
| Panel on Information Technology and Broadcasting | Sin Chung-kai (Democratic) | | Ma Fung-kwok (Independent→NCF) | Ma Fung-kwok (Independent→NCF) | | Sin Chung-kai (Democratic) |
| Panel on Manpower | Fred Li (Democratic) | | Lau Chin-shek (Democratic→CTU) | Lau Chin-shek (Democratic) | | Lee Kai-ming (FLU) |
| Panel on Planning, Lands and Works | Edward Ho (Liberal) | Edward Ho (Liberal) | Edward Ho (Liberal) | Tang Siu-tong (PA) | Tang Siu-tong (PA) | Tang Siu-tong (PA) |
| Panel on Public Service | Tam Yiu-chung (DAB) | Tam Yiu-chung (DAB) | Tam Yiu-chung (DAB) | Sophie Leung (Liberal) | Sophie Leung (Liberal) | Sophie Leung (Liberal) |
| Panel on Security | James To (Democratic) | James To (Democratic) | James To (Democratic) | Selina Chow (Liberal) | Selina Chow (Liberal) | Selina Chow (Liberal) |
| Panel on Transport | Miriam Lau (Liberal) | Miriam Lau (Liberal) | Miriam Lau (Liberal) | Lau Kong-wah (DAB) | Lau Kong-wah (DAB) | Lau Kong-wah (DAB) |
| Panel on Welfare Services | Chan Yuen-han (DAB) | Chan Yuen-han (DAB) | Chan Yuen-han (DAB) | Ho Sai-chu (Liberal) | Ho Sai-chu (Liberal) | Ho Sai-chu (Liberal) |