Small-Circle Election Legitimacy / 小圈子選舉認受性

Definition

Small-circle election legitimacy is the problem of public mandate raised when a leader is selected by a narrow elite electorate rather than by universal suffrage.

Current Synthesis

The Tung source uses the 1996 chief-executive selection to make the mechanism concrete. 董建華’s 320-vote victory made him the first post-handover leader, but the episode treats the small electorate as part of a broader legitimacy deficit once economic and political crises arrived.

Key Claims

• Narrow elite selection can create formal officeholding without broad public mandate.
• Small-circle selection fit Beijing’s preference for a controllable, business-friendly handover arrangement.
• Crisis turns a narrow mandate into a governing vulnerability because public acceptance cannot be assumed.

Evidence

• Election detail: 董建華逝世：「愛國者元老」的香港人生 says Tung won the 1996 small-circle election with 320 votes.
• Structural interpretation: 董建華逝世：「愛國者元老」的香港人生 links that selection model to executive-led governance without universal-suffrage legitimacy.
• Beijing preference: 董建華逝世：「愛國者元老」的香港人生 says Beijing valued Tung’s business background and networks.

Counterevidence & Qualifications

The source gives only Tung’s selection as an example. It does not compare other small-electorate systems or later Hong Kong chief-executive elections.

What Changed

• Created the election-mechanism page for the Tung branch.

Related Concepts

• Hong Kong Chief Executive Legitimacy / 香港特首認受性 - mandate problem amplified by narrow selection.
• Business-Elite Rule in Hong Kong / 商界治港 - elite political arrangement that small-circle selection supports.
• Post-Handover Hong Kong Governance / 回歸後香港管治 - wider governing system where the mechanism appears.