Lee has been the major face of the Hong Kong democracy movement on the international stage, especially in the United States. He is a controversial figure in Hong Kong. To human rights activists he has been labeled "The Father of Democracy" in Hong Kong. To Beijing officials, he has been labeled a "running dog of the colonialists".
After being a member of the Legislative Council for 23 years, on 27 March 2008, Lee announced that he would not seek re-election when his term ended in September of the year.
Biography
Lee was born in Hong Kong and raised in Guangzhou. He was the sixth of seven children. After he graduated from Wah Yan College, Kowloon, Lee obtained his undergraduate BA degree in and Philosophy at the University of Hong Kong. He has been a member from 1985 to 1997. He realised that the long-term trends in the were not in favour of moving towards democracy and . Lee's activism to renew the momentum behind the Chinese democracy movement has stalled since 1989. Most notable is Lee's call for the overthrow of mainland China's leadership.
Internationally he became an icon for fighting the Chinese government for more democracy in Hong Kong, and was recognized and awarded by a number of international organizations, including the "1995 International Human Rights Award" by the American Bar Association, the Prize For Freedom by the Liberal International in 1996, the "Democracy Award" of the National Endowment for Democracy in 1997, and the "Schuman Medal" in 2000 which Lee was the first non-European to receive from the European Peoples Party and European Democrats. Tung Chee-hwa countered the generally negative image of Hong Kong under rule, and said Lee was "bad mouthing" the in front of the international audience.
Improving PRC human rights via Olympic
In October 2007, Lee published an article named "China's Olympic Opportunity" in The Wall Street Journal criticizing People's Republic of China for not living up to its promise to improve its human rights status during the . However Lee urged the West, particularly United States, not to boycott the , and instead take the opportunity when China is opening itself up to the world, to directly engage China in efforts to bring China closer to the international community in terms of its human rights. His article was somehow being twisted and words like "direct engagement" was translated to Chinese equivalent of "intervene", and some media even claimed that Lee asked United States to boycott the games. This immediately stirred backlashes from Beijing loyalists, who virtually accused Lee of being a hanjian. On October 27, the Democratic Party issued an announcement to newspapers setting out the party's position regarding the article Lee published. Chairman Albert Ho reiterated, "It is not an apology, but a clear declaration of what we stand for."
Criticism
As early as 1992 warned Chris Patten, the then new Hong Kong governor at the time that Lee must not be appointed to the cabinet. The pro-Beijing camp have since called Lee a "traitor" in 2004 upon his return from Washington D.C. His patriotism was questioned along with his Chinese identity. Lee's father is connected to the Kuomintang, which can further complicate things. Some have complained the democratic movement have gone too far and his uncompromising stance for universal suffrage at the earliest possible date is destructive to the local business climate and political stability.
Other info
Martin Lee visited the Holy See with Joseph Cardinal Zen in March 2006.
In 2007, Lee took up the application for judicial review of the Government's decision to demolish Queen's Pier.
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