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82-607: The bypass opened to traffic on 20 January 2019. The project, originally estimated to cost HK$ 28 billion, was approved by the Legislative Council finance committee in 2009, following a "decade of objections and legal challenges" from environmentalists and citizens concerned by further reclamation of Victoria Harbour . An Environmental Permit was issued under the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance and construction began

164-406: A decade, have been preceded by authoritarianism, a traditional regime (possibly with colonial characteristics), or even a minimal democracy and are characterized by the break-up of limited pluralism and forms of independent, autonomous participation, but the absence of at least one of the four aspects of a minimal democracy Professor Jeffrey C. Isaac defined hybrid regimes as: Hybrid regimes have

246-446: A decisive coalition of broadly supported political leaders who take great care in creating and strengthening democratic political institutions. By contrast, the delegative form is partially democratic, for the president has a free rein to act and justify his or her acts in the name of the people. The president can "govern as he sees fit" even if it does not resemble promises made while running for election. The president claims to represent

328-718: A district magnitude of 2 ("binomial system"). The binomial system was instituted by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in its amendment to Annex 2 of the Basic Law on 30 March 2021. Geographical constituencies were first introduced in Hong Kong's first legislative election with direct elections in 1991 . The electoral system and boundaries of GCs have since changed: ( Largest remainder method : Hare quota ) Between 1998 and 2016,

410-509: A drop in the share of directly elected representatives from 50% to 22% and an increase in the overall number of seats from 70 to 90, along with the establishment of a screening committee to vet candidates. The original two groups (GCs and FCs) had constitutional significance. Government bills requires a simple majority of the council for passage, whereas private member bills requires simple majorities in two discrete divisions of geographical members and functional members for passage. Therefore,

492-633: A full dictatorship as either a form of authoritarianism or totalitarianism over a "hybrid system". Authoritarian governments that conduct elections are in many scholars view not hybrids, but are successful well-institutionalized stable authoritarian regimes. Democratic elements can simultaneously serve authoritarian purposes and contribute to democratization. Electoral authoritarianism means that democratic institutions are imitative and, due to numerous systematic violations of liberal democratic norms, in fact adhere to authoritarian methods. Electoral authoritarianism can be competitive and hegemonic, and

574-403: A hybrid regime include: Democratization , or democratisation, is the structural government transition from an authoritarian government to a more democratic political regime , including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. There are various democratic freedom indices produced by intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations that publish assessments of

656-539: A member is constitutionally four years except for the first term (1998 to 2000) which was set to be two years according to Article 69 of the Basic Law . The 6th Legislative Council 's term of office of over five years from 2016 is in direct violation of Article 69 of the Basic Law. In both the 2008 and 2004 elections, 30 members were directly elected by universal suffrage from geographical constituencies (GCs) and 30 were elected from functional constituencies (FCs). In

738-451: A political regime that combines some democratic and some autocratic elements in a significant manner. It is not, however, a mere half-way category: hybrid regimes have their own distinct dynamics that do not simply amount to half of what we would see in a democracy plus half of what we would see in an autocracy. Leonardo Morlino defined hybrid regimes as; a set of institutions that have been persistent, be they stable or unstable, for about

820-562: A significant impact on policy. Competitive Authoritarian Regimes (or Competitive Authoritarianism) is a subtype of Authoritarianism and of the wider Hybrid Regime regime type. This regime type was created to encapsulate states that contained formal democratic institutions that rulers viewed as the principal means of obtaining and exercising legitimate political authority with a meaningful opposition and other semblances of democratic political society. However officials violate elections frequently and interfere with opposition organisations causing

902-537: A stable political system. In 1995 Terry Karl introduced the notion of "hybrid" regime, which was simply defined as "combining democratic and authoritarian elements". According to professor Matthijs Bogaards hybrid types are: not diminished subtypes, since they do not lack the full development of a characteristic, but rather they exhibit a mixture of characteristics of both basic types, so that they simultaneously combine autocratic and democratic dimensions or institutions Pippa Norris defined hybrid regimes as:

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984-431: A system characterized by weak checks and balances on executive powers, flawed or even suspended elections, fragmented opposition forces, state restrictions on media freedoms, intellectuals, and civil society organizations, curbs on the independence of the judiciary and disregard for rule of law, the abuse of human rights by the security forces, and tolerance of authoritarian values. Henry E. Hale defined hybrid regimes as;

1066-463: A time. There has been a rise in hybrid regimes since the end of the Cold War . The term hybrid regime arises from a polymorphic view of political regimes that opposes the dichotomy of autocracy or democracy . Modern scholarly analysis of hybrid regimes focuses attention on the decorative nature of democratic institutions (elections do not lead to a change of power, different media broadcast

1148-574: Is a type of political system often created as a result of an incomplete democratic transition from an authoritarian regime to a democratic one (or vice versa). Hybrid regimes are categorized as having a combination of autocratic features with democratic ones and can simultaneously hold political repressions and regular elections . Hybrid regimes are commonly found in developing countries with abundant natural resources such as petro-states . Although these regimes experience civil unrest, they may be relatively stable and tenacious for decades at

1230-583: Is an indicator to explain and measure these new forms of autocracies. Additionally, approval ratings of political leaders play an important role in these types of regimes, and democratic elements can drive up the ratings of a strongman leader creating a tool not utilized previously. Today, 'hybrid regime' is a term used to explain a growing field of political development where authoritarian leaders incorporate elements of democracy that stabilize their regimes. According to Guillermo O'Donnell , Philippe C. Schmitter , Larry Diamond and Thomas Carothers , signs of

1312-470: Is usually linked solely to highly developed capitalist countries. However, newly installed democracies do not seem to be on a path of becoming fully representative democracies, and instead exhibit authoritarian tendencies. O'Donnell calls the former delegative democracies, for they are not fully consolidated democracies but may be enduring. For a representative democracy to exist, there must be an important interaction effect. The successful cases have featured

1394-526: The 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests , the National People's Congress disqualified several opposition councillors and initiated an electoral overhaul in 2021. The current Legislative Council consists of three groups of constituencies— geographical constituencies (GCs), functional constituencies (FCs), and Election Committee constituencies —and has been dominated by the pro-Beijing camp since an opposition walkout in 2020. The 2021 changes resulted in

1476-574: The District Councillors and elected by all registered electorates. The 2014 Hong Kong electoral reform proposal, which suggested the electoral method of the Legislative Council remain unchanged, was vetoed in 2015, after a massive occupation protest demanding universal suffrage — often dubbed the " Umbrella Revolution " — broke out in 2014. The 2016 New Territories East by-election and September general election saw

1558-608: The Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) in Mexico . Augusto Pinochet used the term when he was asked about his regime and the accusations about his government. Guided democracy , also called directed democracy and managed democracy, is a formally democratic government that functions as a de facto authoritarian government or, in some cases, as an autocratic government . Such hybrid regimes are legitimized by elections, but do not change

1640-783: The Provisional Legislative Council (PLC) in Shenzhen, under the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China . The Provisional Legislative Council, seen as unconstitutional by the British authorities and boycotted by most pro-democracy legislators , was in operation from 25 January 1997 to 30 June 1998 and held its meetings in Shenzhen until 30 June 1997, when the PLC moved to Hong Kong and replaced

1722-701: The government's constitutional reform proposal became the first and only constitutional move to have been passed by the Legislative Council in the SAR era with the support of the Democratic Party after the Beijing government accepted the modified package as presented by the party, which increased the composition of the Legislative Council from 60 to 70 seats; adding five seats in the directly elected geographical constituencies and five new District Council (Second) functional constituency seats which are nominated by

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1804-419: The president of the Legislative Council being ranked first. Members who did not serve throughout the term are italicised . Supplementary members elected in by-elections are listed below. Key to changes since legislative election: The Geographical Constituency (GC) seats are returned by universal suffrage . 20 seats of the Legislative Council are returned by GCs through single non-transferable vote with

1886-612: The rise of localist tide where a number of pro-independence candidates were elected to the council. In November, in Beijing's fifth interpretation of the Basic Law since the 1997 handover, the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) disqualified two pro-independence legislators from assuming public office pursuant to Article 104 . Four more pro-democracy and localist legislators were unseated in subsequent court cases. Returning officers also disqualified certain candidates who had advocated for Hong Kong self-determination, with or without option for independence, from running in

1968-416: The state's policies, motives, and goals. In a guided democracy, the government controls elections such that the people can exercise democratic rights without truly changing public policy. While they follow basic democratic principles, there can be major deviations towards authoritarianism . Under managed democracy, the state's continuous use of propaganda techniques prevents the electorate from having

2050-430: The 1980s, the term hybrid regime began to be used and was strengthened according to Thomas Carothers : the majority of “transitional countries” are neither completely dictatorial nor aspiring to democracy, and by and large they cannot be called transitional. They are located in the politically stable gray zone, changes in which may not take place for decades. Thus, he stated that hybrid regimes must be considered without

2132-468: The 2000 election, 24 were directly elected, six elected from an 800-member electoral college known as the Election Committee of Hong Kong , and 30 elected from FCs. Since the 2004 election, all the seats are equally divided between geographical and functional constituencies. According to The Basic Law, while the method for forming the Legislative Council shall be specified in accordance with

2214-616: The 28 per cent budget increase. On 15 September 2015, the Director of Highways announced that the Central–Wan Chai Bypass would not open in 2017 as previously anticipated. He blamed a large metal object (probably a sunken ship) that was found on the seabed at the reclamation site in Wan Chai. As a result of the discovery, reclamation works were suspended for some time. The first phase of the project opened on 20 January 2019 with

2296-588: The Beijing government resolved to set up an alternative legislative council in preparation for the return of Hong Kong sovereignty from Britain to China. Before the 1997 handover of Hong Kong , rather than working through the 1995 elected colonial legislature , the government of China, through the Preparatory Committee for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), unilaterally established, in 1996,

2378-713: The Beijing-controlled Election Committee and 30 seats would remain trade-based functional constituencies, reducing the proportion of directly elected seats from 50% to 22%. Additionally all candidates must now be approved by the unelected HKSAR government via the Candidate Eligibility Review Committee. This has led to all parties that are not pro-Beijing declining to run in the elections, as it is now reasonable to assume that any pro-democracy candidates fielded that might be electable will be disqualified prior to

2460-577: The Chamber, major conference rooms, and communal facilities such as library, cafeteria and education facilities. The range of education facilities for visit by the public includes video corner, visitors' sharing area, exhibition area, children's corner, viewing gallery and access corridors, memory lane, education activities rooms and education galleries. The high block, which will be named as the Office Block, mainly houses offices for members and staff of

2542-1076: The French Mission Building), still standing at Government Hill. From 1848 to 1954 (interrupted by renovation in 1928-9 and the Japanese occupation in 1941–5), it was housed on the upper floor of the Colonial Secretariat Building, Lower Albert Road, replaced in 1957 by the Annex to the Central Government Offices Main Wing, on the same site. In 1985, LegCo moved down to the nearby Old Supreme Court building ( 22°16′52″N 114°09′36″E  /  22.280996°N 114.160116°E  / 22.280996; 114.160116 ) in Central Hong Kong where it remained until November 2011. It took up residence in its present accommodation at

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2624-431: The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region , colloquially known as LegCo , is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong . It sits under China's " one country, two systems " constitutional arrangement, and is the power centre of Hong Kong's hybrid representative democracy , though popular representation in the legislature has diminished significantly in recent years, along with its political diversity. The functions of

2706-688: The Legislative Block of the Central Government Complex, Tamar in December 2011. Unlike many other former and current Commonwealth legislatures, the Hong Kong Legislative Council does not have a ceremonial mace placed in its chambers. However, the high courts of Hong Kong use a mace to open sessions, and it represents the authority and powers of the court. To provide a long-term solution to

2788-637: The Legislative Council Secretariat. Officially opened on 1 August 2011, administrative staff had already taken occupation on 15 January 2011. Under the 2021 Hong Kong electoral changes initiated by the National People's Congress , the Legislative Council is now composed of 90 members returned from 3 constituencies: the Election Committee Constituency , Functional Constituencies and Geographical Constituencies by popular vote. The term of office of

2870-691: The Legislative Council are to enact, amend or repeal laws; examine and approve budgets, taxation and public expenditure; and raise questions on the work of the government. In addition, the Legislative Council also has the power to endorse the appointment and removal of the judges of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal and the Chief Judge of the High Court , as well as the power to impeach the Chief Executive of Hong Kong . Following

2952-469: The Legislative Council to advise the Governor of Hong Kong 's administration. The council had four official members including the governor who was president of the council when it was first established. The Letters Patent of 1888, which replaced the 1843 charter, added the significant words "and consent" after the words "with the advice". The Legislative Council was initially set up as the advisory body to

3034-482: The Legislative Council. The reform would allow a new Candidate Eligibility Review Committee, composed entirely of principal officials from the Hong Kong government, to vet candidates for the Legislative Council and would increase its total number of seats from 70 to 90. However, the seats that were directly elected would be reduced from 35 to 20, the five directly elected District Council (Second) seats would also be removed, while an additional 40 seats would be elected by

3116-608: The National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and Representatives of Relevant National Organisations FCs. Functional constituencies are now principally elected by body votes; the number of FCs with individual votes were reduced, together with elimination of mixed individual and body voting systems. The following FCs were abolished in the 2021 electoral reform. Hybrid regime List of forms of government A hybrid regime

3198-497: The V-Dem Institute: In 2021, 70% of the world population – 5.4 billion people – live in closed or electoral autocracies. A mere 13% of the world's population reside in liberal democracies, and 16% in electoral democracies. Freedom House measures the level of political and economic governance in 29 countries from Central Europe to Central Asia . "Freedom House assign scores to countries and territories across

3280-581: The air extraction path, the location of proposed East Ventilation Building (EVB) needs to be as close to the tunnel portal as possible. Legislative Council of Hong Kong High Court District Court Magistrates' Court Special courts and tribunals: Chief Executive Elections Legislative elections District council elections Consular missions in Hong Kong Hong Kong–China relations Hong Kong–Taiwan relations Download coordinates as: The Legislative Council of

3362-420: The assumption that they will ultimately become democracies. These hybrid regimes were called semi-authoritarianism or electoral authoritarianism. Hybrid regimes have evolved to lean more authoritarian while keeping some democratic traits. One of the main issues with authoritarian rule is the ability to control the threats from the masses, and democratic elements in hybrid regimes can reduce social tension between

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3444-462: The bypass via Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter leave the tunnel and connect with Island Eastern Corridor at Fortress Hill was amended so that the bypass would now emerge from the tunnel between the IEC carriageways, merging with them near Oil Street, Fortress Hill . Ventilation is an indispensable part for the operation of the tunnel as it will supply fresh air to maintain good air-quality environment to

3526-402: The common feature that they all have competition, although the political elite in power deliberately rearranges state regulations and the political arena as to grant itself undue advantages The third wave of democratization from the 1970s onward has led to the emergence of hybrid regimes that are neither fully democratic nor fully authoritarian. Neither the concept of illiberal democracy , nor

3608-580: The commuters inside the tunnel while discharge vitiated air in a controlled manner at pre-determined suitable locations of exhaust. The tunnel ventilation system is also required to remove smoke in case of tunnel fire incidents. It is proposed to have three ventilation buildings sited near the western end, mid-length and eastern end of the Bypass to achieve the three objectives of supplying fresh air, extracting vitiated air and removing smoke during fire. To achieve an energy efficient ventilation system by shortening

3690-508: The concept of electoral authoritarianism fully describes these hybrid regimes. Since the end of the Cold War , such regimes have become the most common among undemocratic countries. At the end of the process of transformation of authoritarian regimes, limited elections appear in one way or another when liberalization occurs. Liberal democracy has always been assumed while in practice this process basically froze "halfway". In relation to regimes that were previously called "transitional" in

3772-661: The countries considered hybrid regimes by the "Global State of Democracy Report" are: According to the V-Dem Democracy Indices compiled by the V-Dem Institute at the University of Gothenburg there are 65 hybrid regimes. V-Dem's "Regimes of the World" indicators identify four political regimes: closed autocracies, electoral autocracies, electoral democracies, and liberal democracies. According to

3854-506: The directly elected legislators (mainly from the GCs) had minimal influence over government policy and legislative agenda. The historical Legislative Council of Hong Kong in the British colonial era was created under the 1843 Charter as an advisory council to the Governor . The authority of the colonial legislature expanded throughout its history. A parallel Provisional Legislative Council

3936-805: The dissolution of District Council (First) and District Council (Second) FCs. Three existing FCs were reconstituted: the Information Technology FC reorganised as the Technology & Innovation FC ; the Medical FC and Health Services FC combined to form the Medical and Health Services FC. Two new FCs were established, namely the Commercial (Third) and the HKSAR Deputies to the National People's Congress, HKSAR Members of

4018-593: The elected legislature from the 1997 handover of Hong Kong until the 1998 Hong Kong legislative election . Since 2000, the terms of the Legislative Council have been four years, with the exception of the 6th Legislative Council . The current HKSAR Legislative Council was established on 1 October 1998 under the Hong Kong Basic Law . The first meeting of the council was held in July of the same year. Five subsequent Legislative Council elections have been held —

4100-466: The election. In this Legislative Council, 59 of the 90 members elected in the 2021 election were elected for the first time, or were not members of the last Legislative Council . All members are listed by seniority according to the year of the beginning of consecutive service then the order of swearing in (i.e. the number of strokes in the traditional characters of names in Chinese per precedent) with

4182-717: The entire project becoming operational on 24 February that year. The bypass starts from Rumsey Street Flyover at Sheung Wan . It enters a tunnel outside the International Finance Centre in Central , then heads east past the Tamar site in Admiralty with an interchange at Wan Chai . It continues to head east under the proposed reclamation areas of Wan Chai, Causeway Bay and Tin Hau. The original design to have

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4264-465: The extent to which voting rights are inclusive, political parties are free to form and campaign for office, elections are free, and political offices are filled through elections." IDEA defined hybrid regimes as: Combination of the elements of authoritarianism with democracy ... These often adopt the formal characteristics of democracy (while allowing little real competition for power) with weak respect for basic political and civil rights As of 2021

4346-487: The following by-elections; the government expressed support for such decisions. The 2019 amendment of the extradition bill caused an historic political upheaval, where intensive protests erupted throughout the city in the latter half of the year, including the storming of the Legislative Council Complex on the 22nd anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong on 1 July. In July 2020, in light of

4428-530: The functioning of government, political participation and political culture." The Democracy Index defines hybrid regimes with the following characteristics: As of 2021 the countries considered hybrid regimes by the "Democracy Index" are: According to the "Global State of Democracy Report" by International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), there are twenty hybrid regimes. "International IDEA compiles data from 12 different data sources, including expert surveys and observational data includes

4510-431: The globe on 10 indicators of political rights (e.g., whether there is a realistic opportunity for opposition parties to gain power through elections) and 15 indicators of civil liberties (e.g., whether there is a free and independent media)." Freedom House classifies transitional or hybrid regimes as: Countries that are typically electoral democracies where democratic institutions are fragile, and substantial challenges to

4592-744: The government point of view and the opposition in parliament votes the same way as the ruling party, among others), from which it is concluded that democratic backsliding , a transition to authoritarianism is the most prevalent basis of hybrid regimes. Some scholars also contend that hybrid regimes may imitate a full dictatorship . Scholars vary on the definition of hybrid regimes based on their primary academic discipline . "Some scholars argue that deficient democracies and deficient autocracies can be seen as examples of hybrid regimes, whereas others argue that hybrid regimes combine characteristics of both democratic and autocratic regimes." Scholars also debate if these regimes are in transition or are inherently

4674-444: The government to block Jimmy Lai from hiring Tim Owen as his defense lawyer. In September 2023, a report found that at least 66% of all bills that were passed were done with less than half of all Legislative Council members present, below the 50% attendance threshold for a quorum. The first meetings of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, from 1844 to 1846, were likely convened in the residence of Governor Pottinger (later to be

4756-639: The governor, and for most of the time, consisted half of official members, who were the government officials seated in the council, and half of unofficial members who were appointed by the Governor . After the Sino-British Joint Declaration was signed on 19 December 1984 (in which the United Kingdom agreed to the handover of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China on 1 July 1997), the Hong Kong government decided to start

4838-400: The incumbent rather than to choose the country's leaders and policies. In political science, delegative democracy is a mode of governance close to Caesarism , Bonapartism or caudillismo with a strong leader in a newly created otherwise democratic government. The concept arose from Argentinian political scientist Guillermo O'Donnell , who notes that representative democracy as it exists

4920-531: The largest party for the first time and has since held its superior status. Due to the indirectly elected trade-based functional constituencies which largely favour business interests — represented by the Liberal Party and subsequently the Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong (BPA) — the pro-Beijing camp has been able to keep the majority in the legislature despite receiving fewer votes than

5002-447: The last years of the colonial rule. The People's Republic of China government did not agree with reforms to the Legislative Council enacted by the last Governor Chris Patten in 1994. Therefore, it withdrew the previous so-called "through-train" policy that would have allowed for members elected to the colonial Legislative Council automatically becoming members of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) legislature. Instead,

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5084-402: The latter does not necessarily mean election irregularities. A. Schedler calls electoral authoritarianism a new form of authoritarian regime, not a hybrid regime or illiberal democracy . Moreover, a purely authoritarian regime does not need elections as a source of legitimacy while non-alternative elections, appointed at the request of the ruler, are not a sufficient condition for considering

5166-437: The legislature with virtually no opposition. On 27 January 2021, CCP general secretary Xi Jinping said that Hong Kong could only maintain its long-term stability and security by ensuring "patriots governing Hong Kong" when he reviewed a work report delivered by Carrie Lam . In March 2021, China's National People's Congress passed a resolution that authorised an overhaul of Hong Kong's electoral system , including that of

5248-551: The masses and the elite. After the third wave of democratization , some regimes became stuck in the transition to democracy, causing the creation of weak democratic institutions. This results from a lack of institutional ownership during critical points in the transition period leading the regime into a gray zone between democracy and autocracy. These developments have caused some scholars to believe that hybrid regimes are not poorly functioning democracies, but rather new forms of authoritarian regimes . Defective democratic stability

5330-574: The most recent being held on 4 September 2016 . The Democratic Party had briefly held the largest-party status in the early years of the SAR period, but its support was slowly eaten away by its pro-democracy allies such as The Frontier and later the Civic Party . In the 2004 election , the pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB) surpassed the Democrats as

5412-408: The principle of gradual and orderly progress, the ultimate aim is to elect all Council members by universal suffrage ( Article 68 of The Basic Law of Hong Kong ). However, under the 2021 overhaul, the seats that were directly elected would be reduced from 35 back down to 20, the five directly elected District Council (Second) seats would also be removed, while an additional 40 seats would be elected by

5494-636: The pro-Beijing Election Committee and 30 seats would remain trade-based functional constituencies. Every candidate must have nominations from each of the five sectors in the Election Committee. The seventh Legislative Council term, beginning in January 2022, made changes where lawmakers' names were replaced with "a member" or "members" in meeting minutes, a change which the Hong Kong Journalists Association said

5576-464: The pro-democracy bloc in the direct elections. Article 68 of the Hong Kong Basic Law states that the ultimate aim is the election of all the members of the Legislative Council by universal suffrage . This and a similar article dealing with election of the Chief Executive have made universal suffrage for the council and the Chief Executive a dominant issue in Hong Kong politics. In 2010,

5658-575: The pro-democrats' attempt to seize the majority of the Legislative Council in the midst of the largely unpopular Carrie Lam government , the government postponed the seventh general election , citing the COVID-19 spike . At variance with the four-year term set out in the Basic Law, the NPCSC decided in August that the sitting Legislative Council should continue with its duties for at least one year; however,

5740-590: The process of democratisation based on the consultative document, Green Paper: the Further Development of Representative Government in Hong Kong on 18 July 1984. The first elections to the Council were held in 1985 , followed by the first direct elections of the Legislative Council held in 1991. The Legislative Council became a fully elected legislature for the first time in 1995 and extensively expanded its functions and organisations throughout

5822-474: The protection of political rights and civil liberties exist In 2022, Freedom House classified 11 of 29 countries analyzed as "Transitional or Hybrid Regimes": According to Yale professor Juan José Linz , there are three main types of political systems today: democracies , totalitarian regimes and, sitting between these two, authoritarian regimes with many different terms that describe specific types of hybrid regimes. Academics generally refer to

5904-634: The regime conducting them to be hybrid. The term " illiberal democracy " describes a governing system that hides its "nondemocratic practices behind formally democratic institutions and procedures". There is a lack of consensus among experts about the exact definition of illiberal democracy or whether it even exists. The rulers of an illiberal democracy may ignore or bypass constitutional limits on their power . While liberal democracies protect individual rights and freedoms, illiberal democracies do not. Elections in an illiberal democracy are often manipulated or rigged, being used to legitimize and consolidate

5986-579: The regime to miss the minimum conventional standard for democracy . Three main instruments are used within Competitive Authoritarian Regimes to maintain political power : the self-serving use of state institutions (regarding abuses of electoral and judicial institutions such as voter intimidation and voter fraud); the overuse of state resources (to gain influence and/or power over proportional representation media, and use legal resources to disturb constitutional change); and

6068-454: The same year. Lawmakers were "shocked" in 2013 by cost overruns . The Transport and Housing Bureau requested HK$ 8 billion in extra funding, bringing the total bill to HK$ 36 billion. Gary Fan , a member of LegCo's transport panel, asked: "Did the government deliberately underestimate the cost in order to get Legco to pass it?" The government bureau blamed unforeseen geotechnical difficulties as well as fluctuating labour and materials costs for

6150-717: The space shortage problem facing both the Government and the Legislative Council, the Government commissioned the Tamar Development for the design and construction of the Central Government Complex , the Legislative Council Complex and other ancillary facilities in 2008. The Legislative Council Complex comprises a low block and a high block: the low block, which will be named the Council Block, mainly houses conference facilities including

6232-449: The term of the upcoming LegCo would remain four years. In a November decision, the NPCSC disqualified LegCo members on grounds such as Hong Kong independence, Chinese sovereignty, and solicitation of foreign intervention, impacting four sitting legislators whose candidacies had been invalidated in the postponed election. After the disqualification, the 15 remaining pro-democracy legislators announced their resignation in protest , leaving

6314-576: The voting system adopted in GCs is a system of party-list proportional representation , with seats allocated by the largest remainder method using the Hare quota as the quota for election. Under the 2021 Hong Kong electoral changes , 28 functional constituencies (FC) return 30 members. The Labour Functional Constituency returns three members by block voting . The other FCs return one member each with first-past-the-post voting . The 2021 electoral reform saw

6396-471: The whole nation rather than just a political party, embodying even the legislature and the judiciary. Dictablanda is a dictatorship in which civil liberties are allegedly preserved rather than destroyed. The word dictablanda is a pun on the Spanish word dictadura ("dictatorship"), replacing dura , which by itself is a word meaning 'hard', with blanda , meaning 'soft'. The term

6478-572: The worlds political systems, according to their own definitions. According to the Democracy Index compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit there are 34 hybrid regimes, representing approximately 20% of countries, encompassing 17.2% to 20.5% of the world's population. "The EIU Democracy Index is based on ratings across 60 indicators, grouped into five categories: electoral process and pluralism, civil liberties,

6560-454: Was first used in Spain in 1930 when Dámaso Berenguer replaced Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja as the head of the ruling dictatorial government, and attempted to reduce tensions in the country by repealing some of the harsher measures that Primo de Rivera had introduced. It was also used to refer to the later years of Francisco Franco 's Spanish State , and to the hegemonic 70-year rule of

6642-486: Was negative and that "One one hand, that would make it more difficult for the public to hold lawmakers accountable, and therefore affect how voters may vote." In April 2023, a survey found that half of Hongkongers were unable to name any serving lawmaker, with another 12% naming somebody not a current lawmaker. In May 2023, the Legislative Council voted with 100% approval to let the chief executive restrict overseas lawyers from national security cases, following attempts by

6724-522: Was put in place by China from 1996 to 1998 to pass laws in anticipation of the Hong Kong handover. The Legislative Council of Hong Kong was set up in 1843 for the first time as a colonial legislature under British rule. Hong Kong's first constitution, in the form of Queen Victoria 's letters patent , issued on 27 June 1843 and titled the Charter of the Colony of Hong Kong , authorised the establishment of

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