Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong
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The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) (Traditional Chinese: 民主建港協進聯盟, or 民建聯 in short), formerly known as The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (民主建港聯盟) is the largest pro-Beijing political party in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. Founded in 10 July 1992, the party has been headed by Ma Lik since December 2003.
A merger with the Hong Kong Progressive Alliance was announced on 16 February 2005. The two parties were merged with new leadership selected on 31 May 2005.
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[edit] Party Beliefs
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| Chairman: | Ma Lik |
| Founded: | July 10, 1992 |
| Headquarters: |
12/F. |
| District Councillors | 83 |
| Legislative Councillors | 12 |
| Political ideology: | pro-Beijing; conservative |
| Website: | DAB |
The DAB is a conservative and pro-government party.
In a recent speech by the DAB chairman Ma Lik (July 12, 2005), the DAB were pursuing five objectives:
1. The DAB is focused on furthering co-operation between Hong Kong and the mainland, enhancing Hong Kong residents' understanding of our country, promoting mutual trust, and creating win-win opportunities economically.
2. The DAB is committed to playing our role as a "constructive monitor" of the SAR government. As the DAB scrutinizes various government policies and decisions, we will seek to provide constructive policy alternatives so that the people of Hong Kong are better served. We will work with the government and the community in securing the progress, prosperity, social stability and harmony for Hong Kong.
3. The DAB will be a party that represents people from every walk of life. We will continue our work on the grassroots level. We will build on our work for the middle-class. We will strive to break down social barriers. We believe that the interests of various sectors can be coordinated and protected as long as we have the common interest of Hong Kong at heart. We will further strengthen our communication network with Hong Kong residents to better reflect their opinion and to be more accountable to the public for our work.
4. The DAB sees itself as a cradle for political talents, where young aspiring politicians will find the most support in building a political career. We will commit the necessary funding, organize trainings, and provide opportunities for those who want to take part in politics. We hope we will have your support in facilitating more and better trained political leaders for Hong Kong.
5. The DAB has set goals for our development as the DAB is a party with a future.
Citation: http://www.dab.org.hk/en/main.jsp?content=article-content.jsp&categoryId=1195&articleId=118
[edit] Elections
The party started with a single seat on the Legislative Council (LegCo). The 1995 LegCo elections increased the DAB's share to six seats. After 1997 when Hong Kong was transferred to the People's Republic of China (PRC), DAB enjoyed political favour from the PRC, and gained a number of seats in Legco through Functional Constituency election which was deemed unfair, and they remain unfavour in local district direct election. In 2000 it had ten councillors in Legco. The most recent Legislative Council election in 2004, it become the largest (by number) political party to be represented with 12 seats, with the Liberal Party coming second (10 seats), and the Democratic Party coming third (9 seats).
Twelve district councillors joined the party on its formation, a share that increased to 37 seats in the 1994 elections and 83 in 1999. In the wake of the controversies over the legislation of Article 23 of the Basic Law in 2003, the party's popularity dropped drastically and the November 2003 District Councils elections saw its seats drop to 62. The election results have led to the resignation of its former Chairman, Jasper Tsang Yok-sing. However, due to the health of Ma Lik, Tsang still effectively controls the DAB.
The DAB and its sister organisation HKFTU are famous for their ability to mobilize their supporters, including employees of PRC state-owned companies, to vote for their candidates in elections. In the 2004 Legislative Council election, although support of Chan Yuen Han's ticket is far higher than Chan Kam Lam's, both in the same constituency and representing DAB and HKFTU, the two organisations managed to share their supports equally among the two tickets, despite a remarkable difference in support in earlier polls. At another constituency, the ticket of Ma Lik and Choy So Yuk ultimately benefitted from a democratic camp mix-up that led to the resignation of the Democratic Party's leader, Yeung Sum.
[edit] Controversies
Some opinion polls allege that the party is less popular among the younger generation, citizens with higher education levels, and those who are dissatisfied with the current government system.
The DAB has been accused of providing benefits to certain people, including seafood meals and local trips to outlying islands at prices significantly lower than market rates. Other allegations include free transport and meals to mobilise people to rally for its cause. However, none of these practices are strictly illegal.
However, it is alleged that some of the participants do not know they are going to join the rallies, but rather think they are part of a trip, until they are sent to the venue. [dubious — see talk page]
[edit] Factions
As the biggest political party of Hong Kong, the 10-year-party can be divided into three main factions:
1. Unionists, i.e. members belonging or came from the Federation of Trade Unions. 2. Indigenous residents in the New Territories 3. Fujianese
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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| Pro-democracy: | Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood (ADPL) | Civic Party (CP) | Democratic Party (DP) | Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU) | League of Social Democrats | Neighbourhood and Workers Service Centre (NWSC) | The Frontier | |||
| Pro-Beijing / Pro-government: | Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) | Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (HKFTU) | Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions (FLU) | Liberal Party (LP) | The Alliance | |||
| * Represented in the Legislative Council | ||||
