page_title: Martin Lee
section_title: After Legislative Council
hierarchical_section_title: Martin Lee / After Legislative Council
caption_attribution_description: 中文: 香港民主黨創黨主席李柱銘自願被警察拘捕，表示承擔責任，完成公民抗命
context_page_description: Martin Lee Chu-ming, SC, JP is a Hong Kong politician and barrister. He is the founding chairman of the United Democrats of Hong Kong and its successor, the Democratic Party, Hong Kong's flagship pro-democracy party. He was also a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong from 1985 to 1997 and from 1998 to 2008. Nicknamed the "Father of Democracy" in Hong Kong, he is recognised as one of the most prominent advocates for democracy and human rights in Hong Kong and China.
  A barrister by profession, Lee served as the chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association from 1980 to 1983. He became involved in discussions over Hong Kong's handover to China, and in 1985 he joined the Hong Kong Basic Law Drafting Committee to assist in the drafting of Hong Kong's Basic Law, the city's mini-constitution post-handover. He was, however, expelled from the body in 1989 in the wake of the 1989 Tiananmen square crackdown, due to his condemnation of the Beijing government's role in the incident and his vocal support for the student protestors. In 1985 he was elected to the Legislative Council, where he advocated strongly for the protection of human rights and democratic reform.
context_section_description: Martin Lee remained active in commenting politics and his legal practise after his retirement from the Legislative Council, especially taking cases of defending the pro-democracy activists who were charged for obstructing public order among other offences.
  In 2009, he was marginalised by his party when he held different stance on the "Five Constituencies Referendum" proposed by the radical League of Social Democrats to press the government to implement the universal suffrage of the Chief Executive and the Legislative Council in 2012 by launching a territory-wide by-election after five pro-democracy Legislative Councillor resigned from their offices at the same time, while the majority wing of the party led by Szeto Wah openly opposed the plan who criticised Lee for "not quite understanding politics". Lee attended the rally in support of the five resigned Legislative Councillors. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party began to negotiate with the Beijing authorities and reached an agreement with the government. After the agreement, Lee expressed his disappointment and his consideration of quitting the party.
  Martin Lee actively lobbied in the West with former Chief Secretary for Administration and Hong Kong 2020 convenor Anson Chan for the support in the Hong Kong's democracy movement during the debate on the 2017/2020 electoral reform in 2014. The duo went to the United States and met Joe Biden, US Vice-President, Nancy Pelosi, minority leader of the House of Representatives, and members of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China and spoke out against Beijing increasing control over Hong Kong and their fear of only candidates picked by Beijing would be allowed to take part in the 2017 Chief Executive election. In July 2014, Martin Lee and Anson Chan visited the United Kingdom and met with Deputy Prime Minister and the leader of the Liberal Democrats Nick Clegg and attended a Foreign Affairs Select Committee hearing, speaking out that they were "concerned that neither of the two signatories to the Joint Declaration – that is, China and Britain – is adequately fulfilling their respective responsibilities on the terms of this internationally binding treaty." Liu Xiaoming, Chinese ambassador to Britain, described Martin Lee and Anson Chan as "bent on undermining the stability of Hong Kong".
  In the massive pro-democracy Occupy protests from October to December 2014, he was among the pro-democracy activists staging a final sit-in and arrested, putting an end to a 75-day street occupation.
caption: Martin Lee being arrested on the last day of the 2014 Hong Kong protests.
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