Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong
| 民主 建 港 協 進 聯盟 Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong Democratic Alliance for the Improvement and Progress of Hong Kong |
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| Party leader |
Starry Lee ( 李慧琼 ) |
| Secretary General | Chan, Hok-fung ( 陳學鋒 / 陈学锋 ) |
| Deputy Chairman | Brave Chan ( 陳勇 / 陈勇 ) Gary Chan ( 陳克勤 / 陈克勤 ) Horace Cheung ( 張國鈞 / 张国钧 ) Holden Chow ( 周浩鼎 ) Thomas Pang ( 彭 長 緯 / 彭 长 纬 ) |
| founding | July 10, 1992 |
| Headquarters | 15 / F, SUP Tower, 83 King's Road, North Point, Hong Kong , China 
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| Youth organization | Young DAB |
| Alignment |
Conservatism Chinese nationalism Pro-Beijing camp |
| Colours) | Blue , red |
| Parliament seats |
5/2980 |
| Legislative Council |
13/70 |
| District Councils |
21/458 |
| Number of members | 36,757 (2018) |
| Website | www.dab.org.hk |
The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong , or DAB for short ( Chinese 民主 建 港 協 進 聯盟 / 民主 建 港 协 进 联盟 - "about: Democratic Alliance for the Improvement and Progress of Hong Kong", short 民建聯 / 民建联 ) is a pro-Chinese political party in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region with a conservative orientation. With 13 seats in the Legislative Council and 118 seats in the District Councils, the DAB is the largest party on both political levels.
position
DAB supports the central government of China , but is also committed to the local interests of Hong Kong. She emphasizes the principle of " one country, two systems ", which unites Hong Kong's membership of the Communist People's Republic of China on the one hand and Hong Kong's liberal democratic system. Promoting democratic reforms in Hong Kong is less important to the party than ensuring stability and prosperity. The party has described itself as rational and pragmatic. She wants to reflect the opinion of the people of Hong Kong and supports people who want to get involved in politics. Through its commitment to welfare state projects such as better support for the education system , housing policy and the fight against unemployment , the party has achieved a certain popularity among the population.
Overall, the party stands for good cooperation with the People's Republic of China and Chinese nationalism , as “One Country” also means that the people of Hong Kong should feel patriotism for China, although the Hong Kong system differs from the communist system. Based on this belief, the party aims to address people across a broad political spectrum ; However, through the merger with the Hong Kong Progressive Alliance, it has developed into a more bourgeois party. In terms of society, the party positions itself in a socially conservative and sometimes value conservative manner . Traditional family values and distance from progressive social politics, for example opening up marriage to couples of the same sex , are important to her. The party generally supports the policies of the Hong Kong government and has three members in the current government.
history
The party was founded in 1992 by 56 politicians who supported the policies of the People's Republic of China and were politically on the same left-leaning course as the Chinese Communist Party . Shortly after the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region as a result of the cession of the territory from the United Kingdom to China, the party gained influence in Hong Kong. The DAB rose to become one of the three most important parties alongside the Democratic Party , part of the pro-democracy camp , and the also pro-Chinese Liberal Party .
In 2003, the party supported the proposal of the Government of Hong Kong, the article 23 of the Basic Law to be implemented by Hong Kong, which the resistance limits against the central government and the basis for measures against a possible secession creates Hong Kong. She suffered a heavy defeat in the 2003 district council elections. In the 2004 elections to the Legislative Council, however, the DAB succeeded in replacing the Democratic Party as the largest party in parliament. In 2005 the Hong Kong Progressive Alliance, which was both pro-Chinese and economically liberal , was incorporated into the DAB.
The party peaked in the 2008 and 2012 legislative council elections and the 2007 and 2011 district council elections, where it achieved its best-ever election results. In the last election to the Legislative Council in 2016 and the elections to the District Councils in 2015, however, she suffered slight losses and lost a seat on the Legislative Council. Due to the narrow victory in the by-election in the constituency of Kowloon West of the Legislative Council in March 2018, DAB was able to increase the number of seats in the Legislative Council from 12 to 13, as it was after the 2008 and 2012 elections.
In the local elections in Hong Kong in 2019 , DAB suffered existential losses. While four years earlier 119 of the 431 seats in the District Councils had been won, the number of seats in the party fell to just 21 of 458 seats in 2019. The DAB competed in most of the constituencies and was able to become the strongest force with 16.78% of the total vote, but due to the pure majority electoral system this does not mean the most seats, as the party was nevertheless subject to pro-democratic candidates in most constituencies and thus came away empty-handed.
Internal party currents
There are different currents within the party , which is due to the fact that the DAB is the largest party in Hong Kong. The different orientations can be roughly divided as follows:
- The economically liberal wing with business people is primarily a successor to the Hong Kong Progressive Alliance.
- From the rural area originating members the interests of the traditional inhabitants of the represented New Territories .
- Members of the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers represent the interests of the party's second largest union of teachers .
- Although some members of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions are also members of the trade union directly, some members and former members also organize themselves in the DAB.
Controversy
Comments on the Tian'anmen massacre
On May 15, 2007, the then party chairman Ma Lik provoked with his statement that there had been no massacre during the protests in Tian'anmen Square in 1989. There would have been no deliberate and indiscriminate shots, and belief in rash claims made by foreigners that a massacre had taken place shows the lack of maturity in Hong Kong society. For this reason, based on the lack of patriotism and national identity (with the People's Republic of China), prove that Hong Kong will not be ready for democracy until 2022.
Party vice-chairman Tam Yiu-chung defended Ma, but questioned the timing of the statement, adding that society will gradually understand. The deputy party chairman Lau Kong-wah immediately offered an apology and distanced the party from Mas’s statement. The party leader would have expressed a personal opinion. The central committee of the DAB declined to take any further action against the party leader and there was no official apology for the statement.
The statement shows that the party wants to maintain a certain distance from the People's Republic of China and wants to be democratic, but the top-level politicians still have to support China's politics in principle and represent Chinese patriotism.
Allegations of irregularity
In the past, the party has been accused, especially by pro-democratic media and politicians, of offering certain people advantages and thus bribing them. The aim is to increase support for DAB. There are said to have already been organized by the party trips to the surrounding islands of the Special Administrative Region and seafood meals at prices well below the market price in order to bring the participants to the side of the party. Although there are these and similar allegations of corruption and bribery in the room, the known practices in this connection are not criminal in Hong Kong.
Previous party chairman
The current party leader Starry Lee is the fourth party leader to date:
- Tsang Yok-sing: July 10, 1992 to December 3, 2003
- Ma Lik: December 9, 2003 to August 8, 2007
- Tam Yiu-chung: August 28, 2007 to April 17, 2015
- Starry Lee: since April 17, 2015
Note: Tam Yiu-chung was the party chairman from August 28, 2007 to September 3, 2007.
Representatives in parliaments and committees
Executive Council
The party currently has three members in the Executive Council of the Hong Kong government. Under Chief Executive Carrie Lam , the following party members are currently part of the government:
- Lau Kong-wah ( Hong Kong Minister of the Interior )
- Ip Kwok-him
- Horace Cheung
Legislative Council
Since the by-election in the Kowloon West constituency, the party has three MPs on the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. Eight MPs were elected in the geographical constituencies, while five MPs were elected by delegates in functional constituencies ( German functional constituencies ) who represent certain professional groups .
The outcome of the 2016 election
In the last election to the Legislative Council in 2016, all DAB candidates received a total of 361,617 votes, which corresponds to a share of 16.68 percent. In percentage terms, that was the worst election result since the first election to the Legislative Council in 1995. In the last election in 2012, the party achieved 20.22 percent. The number of seats also fell from 13 to 12. Of these seats, the party received seven seats in geographic constituencies and five seats in constituencies representing professional groups. Despite the electoral defeat for the party, the DAB remained the strongest political force in the election.
National People's Congress
The DAB currently has five seats in the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China. A total of 36 seats in the national parliament are planned for Hong Kong, which are determined by an election committee and not elected in a direct election. Of the Hong Kong parties in the National People's Congress, the DAB is also the party with the most MPs. Tam Yiu-chung from DAB is a member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for Hong Kong. Chan Yung, Choy So-yuk, Ip Kwok-him and Wong Ting-chung are other MPs for the party in the National People's Congress.
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
In the Political Consultative Conference of the Chinese People , Hong Kong has a total of 124 members. 16 of them are members of the DAB.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Oh, To Be Young And Chinese . In: Newsweek . July 6, 1997 ( newsweek.com [accessed September 7, 2018]).
- ↑ Outgoing DAB chairman Tam Yiu-chung looks to a new generation . In: South China Morning Post . February 8, 2015 ( scmp.com [accessed September 7, 2018]).
- ^ Rioni, SG: Hong Kong in Focus: Political and Economic Issues . Nova Publishers, 2002, pp. 24 .
- ↑ Hong Kong anti-gay advocates claim same-sex marriage will lead to human trafficking, abortions, incest | Hong Kong Free Press HKFP . In: Hong Kong Free Press HKFP . July 11, 2017 ( hongkongfp.com [accessed September 7, 2018]).
- ↑ Lam, Wai-man; Lui, Percy Luen-tim; Wong, Wilson: Contemporary Hong Kong Government and Politics . Hong Kong University Press, 2012, pp. 161 .
- ↑ 民建聯 網站. June 30, 2007, accessed September 7, 2018 .
- ^ Mee, Kau Nyaw; Li, Si-ming: The Other Hong Kong Report 1996 . Chinese University Press, 1996, pp. 55 .
- ^ Kwong, Bruce Kam: Patron-Client Politics and Elections in Hong Kong . Routledge, 2009, pp. 101 .
- ↑ Ambrose Leung: Fury at DAB chief's Tiananmen tirade . In: South China Morning Post . May 16, 2007, p. 1 .
- ↑ Ming Pao: 「馬力 認 輕佻 拒 撤 觀點, 否認 促 為 六四 定 調 願 受 黨 處分」 . May 7, 2007.