RURAL WOMEN
ARTICLE 14
RURAL WOMEN

Reservation entered in respect of this Article

151.

On behalf of the HKSAR, the PRC Government has declared that laws applicable in the New Territories of the HKSAR which enable male indigenous villagers to exercise certain rights in respect of property and which provide for rent concessions in respect of land or property held by indigenous persons or their lawful successors through the male line will continue to be applied. The position with regard to the definition of “indigenous’ population as well as succession of land properties in the New Territories and review of land policy remains as reported in the previous report.

Rural elections

152.

After the Village Representative Election in 2011, the Government conducted a comprehensive review on the electoral arrangements of the three-tier rural elections. Subsequently, the provisions in the Village Representative Election Ordinance (Cap. 576) (VREO) and other related legislation were extended to cover the election of Kaifong Representatives (KFR) who are members of the Rural Committee of Cheung Chau and Peng Chau, two outlying islands in Hong Kong. The VREO was thus renamed as Rural Representative Election Ordinance in 2014 and KFR elections are regulated by statute from 2015 onwards.

The 2015 Rural Ordinary Election

153.

Since the previous report, two rural ordinary elections were held in 2011 and 2015 respectively. The number of registered electors in 2011 was about 182 700 and 47.3% were female electors. In 2015, it was the first time that KFR elections were conducted under the electoral legislation and the supervision of the Electoral Affairs Commission. The number of registered electors increased to about 198 700 (among which about 9 100 were KFR electors) and 47.66% were female electors, making up almost half of the registered electors. The number of female candidates was 39 in 2011 (2.23% of total number of candidates), and it was increased by 79% to 70 in 2015 (3.75% of total number of candidates). The number of elected female rural representatives increased from 30 in 2011 to 49 in 2015, representing an increase of 63%.

154.

The Government will continue its efforts to encourage eligible persons of either sex to register as electors and participate in the election as candidates. We will enhance publicity to encourage participation of women in the coming Rural Ordinary Election to be held in 2019. We will also closely monitor the number of female candidates and the number of female rural representatives elected.

Rural elections
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