# Kowloon West (1998 constituency)

The Kowloon West geographical constituency was one of the five geographical constituencies of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong from 1998 to 2021. It was established in 1998 for the first SAR Legislative Council election and was abolished under the 2021 overhaul of the Hong Kong electoral system. In the 2016 Legislative Council election, it elected six members of the Legislative Council using the Hare quota of party-list proportional representation. It had 602,733 registered electorates in 2020. The constituency corresponded to the districts of Yau Tsim Mong, Sham Shui Po, and Kowloon City.

## History

The single-constituency single-vote system was replaced by the party-list proportional representation system for the first SAR Legislative Council election designed by Beijing to reward the weaker pro-Beijing candidates and dilute the electoral strength of the majority pro-democrats. Three seats were allocated to Kowloon consisting the districts of Yau Tsim Mong, Sham Shui Po and Kowloon City in 1998. The Democratic Party won more than 55 per cent of the vote with Lau Chin-shek and James To elected. The remaining seat was won by pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB) chairman Jasper Tsang. Frederick Fung of the Hong Kong Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood (ADPL) however was defeated over his decision to join the Beijing-controlled Provisional Legislative Council in 1996.
In the 2000 Legislative Council election, an extra seat was added to the constituency which was taken by Frederick Fung. In the 2004 election, Lau Chin-shek who quit the Democratic Party ran as a nonpartisan, while Jasper Tsang's DAB ticket rose to the top with more than 27 per cent. The seats of the Kowloon West was increased to five seats due to the reapportionment, which attracted Civic Party and the Liberal Party among others contesting for the new seat. As Lau Chin-shek ran a low-profile campaign, Wong Yuk-man of the League of Social Democrats (LSD) and pro-Beijing independent Priscilla Leung emerged victorious, while Starry Lee succeeding Jasper Tsang instead who ran in Hong Kong Island.
In 2010, the LSD launched the "Five Constituencies Referendum" with the Civic Party to pressure the government on the 2012 constitutional reform package. Wong Yuk-man resigned in Kowloon West to trigger a by-election in which he was re-elected with a low turnout due to the government and pro-Beijing boycott. In the 2012 Legislative Council election, James To and Frederick Fung switched to the newly created District Council (Second) "super seat", while Helena Wong successfully succeeding To, Tam Kwok-kiu failed to gain a seat for the ADPL and was replaced by Claudia Mo of the Civic Party.
The rise of the localist camp in the 2016 Legislative Council election was reflected in Kowloon West, where university lecturer Lau Siu-lai and activist Yau Wai-ching each gained a seat when the constituency was added an extra seat due to the reapportionment. In return, Wong Yuk-man who now represented the Proletariat Political Institute (PPI) was ousted unexpectedly by Yau Wai-ching with a narrow margin of 424 votes, 0.15 per cent of the vote share. The pro-Beijing camp took a conservative strategy by fielding only two tickets led by Ann Chiang of the DAB and Priscilla Leung of the Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong (BPA), making it the constituency electing all women.
Yau was soon disqualified from the office due to her oath-taking controversy, followed by Lau Siu-lai who was also disqualified for her oath-taking manner. Two by-elections were held in March and November 2018 where pro-Beijing candidates Vincent Cheng of the DAB and independent Chan Hoi-yan surprisingly both beat the pro-democracy candidates, first times pro-Beijing camp won a majority in a direct election in more than 20 years. Chan, however, was unseated in 2020, as the court viewed Lau Siu-lai's disqualification from running in the November 2018 by-election was unlawful.

## Returned members

Below are all the members since the creation of the Kowloon West constituency. The number of seats allocated to Kowloon West was increased from three to six between 1998 and 2016 due to its enlargement. Councillors representing this area include:
LegCo members for Kowloon West, 1998–2021 :
| Term | Election | Member | Member | Member | Member | Member | Member | Member | Member | Member |
| 1st | 1998 | Lau Chin-shek (DP/CTU→CTU) | | James To (DP) | Tsang Yok-sing (DAB) | | | | | |
| 2nd | 2000 | Lau Chin-shek (DP/CTU→CTU) | | James To (DP) | Tsang Yok-sing (DAB) | | Frederick Fung (ADPL) | | | |
| 3rd | 2004 | Lau Chin-shek (DP/CTU→CTU) | | James To (DP) | Tsang Yok-sing (DAB) | | Frederick Fung (ADPL) | | | |
| 4th | 2008 | Wong Yuk-man (LSD) | | James To (DP) | Starry Lee (DAB) | | Frederick Fung (ADPL) | Priscilla Leung (Ind→BPA/KWND) | | |
| 4th | 2010 (b) | Wong Yuk-man (LSD→PP→Ind) | | James To (DP) | Starry Lee (DAB) | | Frederick Fung (ADPL) | Priscilla Leung (Ind→BPA/KWND) | | |
| 5th | 2012 | Wong Yuk-man (LSD→PP→Ind) | | Helena Wong (DP) | Ann Chiang (DAB) | | Claudia Mo (CP→HKF) | Priscilla Leung (Ind→BPA/KWND) | | |
| 6th | 2016 | Yau Wai-ching (Youngspiration) | | Helena Wong (DP) | Ann Chiang (DAB) | | Claudia Mo (CP→HKF) | Priscilla Leung (Ind→BPA/KWND) | | Lau Siu-lai (DG) |
| 6th | Mar 2018 (b) | Vincent Cheng (DAB) | | Helena Wong (DP) | Ann Chiang (DAB) | | Claudia Mo (CP→HKF) | Priscilla Leung (Ind→BPA/KWND) | Vacant | Vacant |
| 6th | Nov 2018 (b) | Vincent Cheng (DAB) | | Helena Wong (DP) | Ann Chiang (DAB) | | Claudia Mo (CP→HKF) | Priscilla Leung (Ind→BPA/KWND) | | Chan Hoi-yan (Ind) |
| Vacant ||
| 6th | Nov 2018 (b) | Vincent Cheng (DAB) | Vacant | Vacant | Ann Chiang (DAB) | Vacant | Vacant | | Priscilla Leung (Ind→BPA/KWND) | Vacant | Vacant |

### Summary of seats won

| Term | Election | Distribution |
| 1st | 1998 | 2 1 |
| 2nd | 2000 | 3 1 |
| 3rd | 2004 | 3 1 |
| 4th | 2008 | 3 2 |
| 5th | 2012 | 3 2 |
| 6th | 2016 | 4 2 |
| | | 1998 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | 2012 | 2016 |
| | Democratic | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| | DAB | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| | CTU | | 1 | | | | |
| | ADPL | | 1 | 1 | 1 | | |
| | LSD | | | | 1 | | |
| | People Power | | | | | 1 | |
| | Civic | | | | | 1 | 1 |
| | KWND/BPA | | | | | 1 | 1 |
| | Democracy Groundwork | | | | | | 1 |
| | Youngspiration | | | | | | 1 |
| | Independent | | | 1 | 1 | | |
| Pro-democracy | Pro-democracy | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Pro-Beijing | Pro-Beijing | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Seats | Seats | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 |

### Vote share summary

| | | 1998 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | 2012 | 2016 |
| | Democratic | 55.1 | 20.7 | 26.6 | 14.4 | 15.5 | 9.3 |
| | DAB | 21.7 | 23.5 | 27.1 | 18.9 | 20.4 | 18.8 |
| | ADPL | 19.3 | 35.2 | 26.4 | 17.2 | 13.2 | 5.5 |
| | Liberal | 2.9 | | | 6.3 | | |
| | CTU | | 20.7 | | | | |
| | LSD | | | | 18.2 | | 2.4 |
| | Civic | | | | 8.4 | 16.3 | 11.6 |
| | People Power | | | | | 16.7 | |
| | KWND/BPA | | | | | 14.9 | 17.8 |
| | Democracy Groundwork | | | | | | 13.7 |
| | Youngspiration | | | | | | 7.4 |
| | PPI | | | | | | 7.3 |
| | Third Side | | | | | | 4.8 |
| | Independent and Others | 1.1 | | 19.9 | 16.7 | 3.0 | 1.1 |
| Pro-democracy | Pro-democracy | 74.3 | 76.5 | 72.1 | 64.4 | 63.1 | 58.2 |
| Pro-Beijing | Pro-Beijing | 24.6 | 23.5 | 27.1 | 35.3 | 36.9 | 37.0 |

## Election results

The largest remainder method (with Hare quota) of the proportional representative electoral system was introduced in 1998, replacing the single-member constituencies of the 1995 election. Elected candidates are shown in bold. Brackets indicate the quota + remainder.

### 2010s

November 2018 Kowloon West by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Nonpartisan | Chan Hoi-yan | 106,457 | 49.52 |
| | Labour | Lee Cheuk-yan | 93,047 | 43.28 |
| | Nonpartisan | Frederick Fung Kin-kee | 12,509 | 5.82 |
| | Nonpartisan | Ng Dick-hay | 1,650 | 0.77 |
| | Nonpartisan | Judy Tzeng Li-wen | 1,307 | 0.61 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 13,410 | 6.24 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 214,970 | 100.00 |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 1,552 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 216,522 | 44.45 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 487,160 | |
| | Nonpartisan gain from Nonpartisan | Nonpartisan gain from Nonpartisan | Swing | |
March 2018 Kowloon West by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | DAB | Vincent Cheng Wing-shun | 107,479 | 49.91 |
| | Nonpartisan | Yiu Chung-yim | 105,060 | 48.79 |
| | Nonpartisan | Jonathan Tsoi Tung-chau | 2,794 | 1.30 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,419 | 1.12 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 215,333 | 100.00 |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 1,562 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 216,895 | 44.31 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 489,451 | |
| | DAB gain from Youngspiration | DAB gain from Youngspiration | Swing | |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Vote share
2016 Legislative Council election: Kowloon West :
| List | List | Candidates | Votes | Of total (%) | ± from prev. |
| Quota | Quota | Quota | 46,479 | 16.67 | |
| | DAB | Ann Chiang Lai-wan Chris Ip Ngo-tung, Samuel Chan Wai-ming, Terence Siu Tin-hung, Allen Cheung Tak-wai | 52,541 | 18.84 (16.67+2.17) | –1.57 |
| | BPA (KWND) | Leung Mei-fun Leung Man-kwong, Cho Wui-hung, Kacee Ting Wong, Leung Yuen-ting, Chan Kwok-wai | 49,745 | 17.84 (16.67+1.17) | +2.95 |
| | Democracy Groundwork | Lau Siu-lai | 38,183 | 13.69 | N/A |
| | Civic | Claudia Mo Man-ching Joshua Li Chun-hei | 32,323 | 11.59 | –4.75 |
| | Democratic | Wong Pik-wan Ramon Yuen Hoi-man, Joshua Fung Man-tao, Chau Man-fong | 26,037 | 9.34 | –6.18 |
| | Youngspiration | Yau Wai-ching | 20,643 | 7.40 | N/A |
| | PPI | Wong Yuk-man, Ma Yu-sang | 20,219 | 7.25 | –9.37 |
| | ADPL | Tam Kwok-kiu, Yeung Yuk, Wong Wing-kit | 15,383 | 5.52 | –7.68 |
| | Third Side | Tik Chi-yuen, Wong Chun-long, Pang Yi-ting, Chen Lihong | 13,461 | 4.83 | N/A |
| | LSD | Avery Ng Man-yuen | 6,811 | 2.44 | N/A |
| | Politihk SS | Kwan San-wai, Ko Chi-keung | 938 | 0.34 | N/A |
| | Nonpartisan | Augustine Lee Wing-hon, Foo Wai-lok | 874 | 0.31 | N/A |
| | Pioneer of Victoria Park | Chu Siu-hung | 680 | 0.24 | N/A |
| | Independent | Lam Yi-lai, Au Wing-ho | 634 | 0.23 | –0.14 |
| | HKLP | Jonathan Ho Chi-kwong | 399 | 0.14 | N/A |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 278,871 | 100.00 | |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 4,883 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 283,754 | 58.13 | +4.24 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 488,129 | | |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Vote share
2012 Legislative Council election: Kowloon West :
| List | List | Candidates | Votes | Of total (%) | ± from prev. |
| Quota | Quota | Quota | 46,416 | 20.00 | |
| | DAB | Chiang Lai-wan Chris Ip Ngo-tung, Vincent Cheng Wing-shun, Chan Wai-ming, Lam Sum-lim | 47,363 | 20.41 (20.00+0.41) | +1.51 |
| | People Power | Wong Yuk-man Yim Tat-ming, Chau Tsun-kiu, Lau Tit-wai | 38,578 | 16.62 | −1.58 |
| | Civic | Claudia Mo Man-ching Joe Wong Tak-chuen | 37,925 | 16.34 | +7.94 |
| | Democratic | Wong Pik-wan Cheung Man-kwong, Li Yiu-kee, Yuen Hoi-man, Chong Miu-sheung | 36,029 | 15.52 | +1.12 |
| | KWND | Leung Mei-fun Yang Wing-kit, Wai Hoi-ying, Leung Man-kwong | 34,548 | 14.89 | +5.29 |
| | ADPL | Tam Kwok-kiu, Liu Sing-lee, Rosanda Mok Ka-han, Wong Chi-yung, Austen Ng Po-shan | 30,634 | 13.20 | −4.00 |
| | Independent | Wong Yee-him | 3,746 | 1.61 | N/A |
| | Ind. democrat | Wong Yat-yuk | 2,399 | 1.03 | N/A |
| | Awakening Association | Lam Yi-lai, Simon Ho Ka-kuen, Au Wing-ho, Lee Ka-wai | 859 | 0.37 | +0.07 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 232,081 | 100.00 | |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 3,952 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 236,033 | 53.89 | +9.12 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 437,968 | | |
2010 Kowloon West by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | LSD | Wong Yuk-man | 60,395 | 67.77 |
| | Nonpartisan | Pamela Peck Wan-kam | 16,640 | 18.67 |
| | Tertiary 2012 | Wong Weng-chi | 3,429 | 3.85 |
| | Nonpartisan | Chiang Sai-cheong | 3,109 | 3.49 |
| | Nonpartisan | Shea Kai-chuen | 2,517 | 2.82 |
| | Nonpartisan | Kenneth Cheung Kam-chung | 1,869 | 2.10 |
| | Nonpartisan | Lam Yi-lai | 1,069 | 1.20 |
| | Nonpartisan | Kwok Shiu-ming | 91 | 0.10 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 43,755 | 49.10 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 89,119 | 100.00 |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 2,682 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 91,801 | 21.13 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 434,519 | |
| | LSD hold | LSD hold | Swing | |

### 2000s

| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Vote share
2008 Legislative Council election: Kowloon West :
| List | List | Candidates | Votes | Of total (%) | ± from prev. |
| Quota | Quota | Quota | 41,317 | 20.00 | |
| | DAB | Starry Lee Wai-king Chung Kong-mo, Chan Wai-ming, Vincent Cheng Wing-shun | 39,013 | 18.88 | −8.25 |
| | LSD | Wong Yuk-man Lee Wai-yee | 37,553 | 18.18 | N/A |
| | ADPL | Frederick Fung Kin-kee Rosanda Mok Ka-han, Tsung Po-shan, Wong Chi Yung, Yeung Chun-yu | 35,440 | 17.16 | −2.89 |
| | Democratic | James To Kun-sun Lam Ho-yeung | 29,690 | 14.37 | −12.22 |
| | Nonpartisan | Priscilla Leung Mei-fun Edward Leung Wai-keun, Aaron Lam Ka-fai | 19,914 | 9.64 | N/A |
| | Civic | Claudia Mo Man-ching, Ng Yuet-lan, Tang Chi-ying | 17,259 | 8.35 | N/A |
| | Liberal | Michael Tien Puk-sun, Ho Hin-ming | 13,011 | 6.30 | N/A |
| | Nonpartisan | Lau Chin-shek | 10,553 | 5.11 | N/A |
| | Independent | Tam Hoi-pong | 1,603 | 0.78 | N/A |
| | Nonpartisan | Francis Chong Wing-charn | 1,076 | 0.52 | N/A |
| | SDA | James Lung Wai-man, Bantawa Sukra | 591 | 0.29 | N/A |
| | Nonpartisan | Lam Yi-lai | 590 | 0.29 | N/A |
| | Nonpartisan | Lau Yuk-shing, Nandeed Cheung Kit-fung, David Tsui | 290 | 0.14 | N/A |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 206,583 | 100.00 | |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 1,182 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 207,765 | 47.18 | −7.56 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 440,335 | | |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Vote share
2004 Legislative Council election: Kowloon West :
| List | List | Candidates | Votes | Of total (%) | ± from prev. |
| Quota | Quota | Quota | 56,924 | 25.00 | |
| | DAB | Jasper Tsang Yok-sing Chung Kong-mo, Starry Lee Wai-king | 61,770 | 27.13 (25.00+2.13) | +3.59 |
| | Democratic | James To Kun-sun Chan Ka-wai, Lam Ho-yeung, Ma Kee | 60,539 | 26.59 (25.00+1.59) | −14.68 |
| | ADPL | Frederick Fung Kin-kee | 45,649 | 20.05 | −15.14 |
| | Nonpartisan | Lau Chin-shek | 43,460 | 19.09 | N/A |
| | ADPL | Liu Sing-lee | 13,452 | 5.91 | N/A |
| | Nonpartisan | Lau Yuk-shing, Leung Suet-fong, Lau Po-kwan | 1,824 | 0.80 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 227,694 | 54.74 | +12.60 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 227,694 | 100.00 | |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 2,368 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 230,062 | 54.74 | +12.60 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 420,259 | | |
| 2 | 1 | 1 |
Vote share
2000 Legislative Council election: Kowloon West :
| List | List | Candidates | Votes | Of total (%) | ± from prev. |
| Quota | Quota | Quota | 44,550 | 25.00 | |
| | Democratic (CTU) | Lau Chin-shek, James To Kun-sun | 73,540 | 41.27 (25.00+16.27) | −13.75 |
| | ADPL | Frederick Fung Kin-kee Liu Sing-lee | 62,717 | 35.19 (25.00+10.19) | +15.95 |
| | DAB | Jasper Tsang Yok-sing Chung Kong-mo, Pun Kwok-wah, Wong Wai-chuen | 41,942 | 23.54 | +1.77 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 178,199 | 100.00 | |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 1,447 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 179,646 | 42.14 | –9.09 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 426,288 | | |

### 1990s

| 2 | 1 |
Vote share
1998 Legislative Council election: Kowloon West :
| List | List | Candidates | Votes | Of total (%) |
| Quota | Quota | Quota | 68,467 | 33.33 |
| | Democratic | Lau Chin-shek, James To Kun-sun Eric Wong Chong-ki | 113,079 | 55.05 (33.33+21.72) |
| | DAB | Jasper Tsang Yok-sing Ip Kwok-chung, Wen Choy-bon | 44,632 | 21.73 |
| | ADPL | Frederick Fung Kin-kee, Liu Sing-lee, Tam Kwok-kiu | 39,534 | 19.25 |
| | Liberal | Ringo Chiang Sai-cheong, Chan Noi-yue, Edward Li King-wah | 5,854 | 2.85 |
| | Atlas Alliance | Helen Chung Yee-fong | 2,302 | 1.12 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 205,401 | 100.00 |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 1,281 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 206,682 | 50.23 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 411,468 | |