Pro-Beijing camp (Hong Kong)
After the Sino-British Joint Declaration was signed in 1984, affirming Chinese sovereignty over Hong Kong from 1997, the traditional leftists realigned themselves and unofficially formed a loose "United Front" with the conservative pro-business elites to counter the emergence of the pro-democracy camp in the 1990s and ensure a smooth transition of the Hong Kong sovereignty in Beijing's interest.
Going into the 2010s, the pro-Beijing camp underwent a period of diversification in which different parties emerged and targeted different voters which resulted in steady increases of the support.
With various positions on specific issues, the camp generally embraces conservative values politically and Chinese nationalistic and patriotic sentiments.
However, the unpopular SAR administrations and opposition to Beijing's policies toward Hong Kong have also caused the camp major losses in the 2003 and 2019 elections.
In the 1990s when the traditional leftists and business elites unofficially formed the loose "United Front" towards the handover in 1997, "pro-Beijing camp" has become a broader term for the whole segment.
During the unpopular administration of Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, the hardcore pro-government parties, mainly the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB), were labelled "loyalists" by the pro-democracy camp.
[9][10] After the Sino-British Joint Declaration in 1984, the pro-CCP organisations became active again, of which many of them were appointed to various positions relating to the transition of the sovereignty of Hong Kong.
To counter the pro-democracy influence in the legislature, the British-appointed unofficial members of the Legislative Council launched the Co-operative Resources Centre (CRC) in 1991 which transformed into the pro-business conservative Liberal Party in 1993, becoming the arch rival of the United Democrats.
[14] In 1994, a group of businessmen and professionals founded the Hong Kong Progressive Alliance (HKPA) under the direction of the New China News Agency.
[16] The Liberal Party led by Allen Lee launched a campaign attempting to defeat Patten's proposal which was backed by Beijing despite its eventual failure.
The stance of the DAB on Article 23 and their blind support for the Tung Chee-hwa's administration were strongly criticised and led to their losses in the District Council election.
[19] In 2005, veteran civil servant Donald Tsang succeeded the unpopular Tung Chee-hwa stepped down as Chief Executive in Beijing's direction.
After the setbacks in 2003, the pro-Beijing camp won back seats lost in 2003 in the 2007 District Council election, in which the DAB became the largest victor.
The Leung Chun-ying administration with its hardline stance on the growing movement for Hong Kong independence after the 2014 Umbrella Revolution was strongly criticised by the pro-democrats and some pro-Beijing moderates.
Vincent Cheng of the DAB narrowly defeated Yiu Chung-yim who was disqualified from the Legislative Council in the oath-taking controversy, becoming the first pro-Beijing candidate to win in a single-member district election since the handover.
Democratic Party legislator James To also accused that "the [Hong Kong] government has used organised, orchestrated forces and even triad gangs in [an] attempt to disperse citizens.
[41] Pro-Beijing legislator Junius Ho was seen in various videos posted online greeting the white-clothed group of assailants, shaking their hands and calling the suspected gangsters "heroes", giving them thumbs-up and saying to them "thank you for your hard work."
