As the party sees it, there is no better time than now to be reaching out. By quitting Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa's cabinet in the wake of the half-million strong July 1 march and the controversy over Article 23 national security legislation, Mr Tien became one of the most respected local politicians - and put the Liberal Party back on the political map.

His own approval rating has reached 61 out of 100 - placing him well ahead of Tung and behind only Audrey Eu Yuet-mee, the extremely popular independent lawmaker, and Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai, Legco president.

The new membership drive aims to bring more of the middle class into what is generally perceived as a party for the rich. Mr Tien admits that although the definition of middle class is very broad, the party's targets for new membership would be narrower with a focus on professionals or senior executives dissatisfied with the government.

Likely candidates would not have high hopes that a 'one person, one vote' political system can be achieved by 2007 but would still want to shape public policies through party politics, Mr Tien said. And the party is not looking to expand dramatically - just to add perhaps 1,000 new members.

The campaign, which will run for six months, received about 200 inquiries in its first few weeks. The membership committee meets every Saturday afternoons and screens about 30 applications. Those who came forward so far, according to Mr Tien, were mainly businesspeople who confessed to being uninterested in politics in the past. Mr Tien said his party colleagues did not ask the hopefuls why they now wanted to join politics or the Liberal Party to avoid scaring them away with too many questions.

Appealing to the middle class is now a theme for many political parties and the central government - the July 1 march acting as a catalyst for change. When various professional groups arrived in Beijing this summer, they were told by senior officials that the middle class should be more active in politics. But the Liberals are so far the only party seeking to re-invent themselves in order to capture middle-class support.

Asked if the recruitment was encouraged by Beijing, Mr Tien said, 'I would say we converge on the same view. But indeed, we started our repositioning soon after dozens of people showed interest to join us after July.'

The Liberal Party's ties to the business community are longstanding and deep. It was founded in 1993 as a 'party for entrepreneurs' by political heavyweight Allen Lee Peng-fei and has always been led by a group of business-affiliated lawmakers returned from the conservative functional constituencies. Mr Tien, an American-educated chemical engineer who had inherited his father's garment business and later branched out to property development, was drafted into the Legislative Council as an appointed member in 1993. He now represents the General Chamber of Commerce's 4,000-odd member enterprises in Legco.

Other Liberals are also business-affiliated: vice-chairwoman Selina Chow Liang Shuk-yee represents the wholesale and retail sector while another deputy, Miriam Lau Kin-yee, has a medium-sized law firm and represents the transport operator constituency in Legco. Other members of the party are affiliated with tourism, catering, industries and textiles.

But Mr Tien says none of this kept his main supporters from backing the plan to take the party in new directions. 'I was worried at first that they might not accept. In fact, those large corporations are also concerned that so many middle class people took to the street. Therefore they also agreed that even a pro-business party like us should move toward the middle class and listen more to their views,' Mr Tien said.

The 'relaunch' included a colourful new party logo said to represent all spectrums of Hong Kong society and a declaration that the Liberals hope to be Hong Kong's ruling party one day.

But the party has been accused of merely staging a PR exercise as, despite the changes, it has not altered its manifesto or introduced any new policies.

Mr Tien admitted that the critics have a point. 'I agree that it's only repackaging in the sense that we haven't changed our party manifesto. We are not going to do that. At least not for the time being.

'But I disagree that we should reposition from a party representing the business sector to one that is solely standing for the middle class. If the Liberal Party was to change completely, it would become a Democratic Party or a Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong [DAB] in disguise,' he said, referring to the city's two most popular parties.

'Then the idea of offering another choice to the people and tip the balance in society is not going to work. People would wonder why they should join the Liberals.'

The manifesto speaks of 'a caring society for all to live in, and a political system in which the interests of the different sectors of society will be fairly represented, carefully balanced and justly upheld'. In another passage, the party pledges 'equity and opportunity for all, as we do not believe in unfair domination by any particular sector of the society over the others.'

On the question of universal suffrage, the party sparked controversy after it announced changes to its manifesto early this year, from backing universal suffrage for the chief executive position and Legco in 2007 and 2008 respectively, to what it describes as an 'orderly and progressive approach' that does not explicitly seek change by these dates.

'There are people in the middle class who are more pragmatic and realise that Beijing would not agree to universal suffrage in 2007. They would rather take a step-by-step approach to make things better,' Mr Tien said.

This is one area in which the Liberals agree with the Tung administration, but Mr Tien makes no apologies: 'We have done something for you [the public] on the Article 23 issue. But as far as other things are concerned, we've got to work with the government, to express your views and to make a better Hong Kong. If we were to alienate from the government and opposed whatever it proposed, the next few years would be even more troublesome.'

Unlike the other major parties, the Liberals draw all their legislators from the functional constituencies, where the voting base is narrowed, and they have no directly elected lawmakers. Before July this year, the Liberals were staunchly behind the Tung administration - and indeed, it is still considered part of the 'ruling coalition', now that the Liberals' deputy chairwoman Chow has taken Mr Tien's place on the Executive Council that advises Mr Tung on policy. The party's eight seats in the 60-member legislature still give it key votes that can decide the fate of bills and motions.

Some would say that the membership decline over the past decade shows the party has lost touch with the public. Mr Tien said the party has never investigated why numbers have dropped, adding many first joined without realising what the party stands for. 'Many believe the Liberals are the party for the rich and expect we would hand out money to them. Some misunderstood that we are more democratic than the Democrats. They fled when they found out that was not the case.'

This time, efforts will be made to ensure those who join understand what the party stands for. Mr Tien conceded that the party had been paid more attention to business tycoons in the past, but said that the new members may play a role in moving the party agenda.

'If you cover the logo, the manifesto is pretty much the same as the Democrats' and the DAB's. It's something that business corporations and the middle class would support. The real difference is who is discharging these principles. Whoever attends the meeting will have the say and make the decision. It sounds like child's play, but in fact that's how party decisions are made,' Mr Tien said. 'I don't even know where we should go. In future we would be changing gradually. If they never participate in our discussion, they will never pull us to their side.'

He hoped that people would still express their views even if they are not ready to sign up. The Liberals plan to have regular meetings with allies in at least four policy groups focusing on democracy, economy, livelihood, and environment and education.

'Many parties want to get their support because they need their votes. But we value their brains. Their views will help shape our party line. In the longer run, our position might move closer toward the middle class. But they have to first participate,' he said.

The true test may be whether the Liberals can move from functional constituencies to success in direct elections. The goodwill resulting from Mr Tien's stand on Article 23 may wear off, and the Liberals' association with the Tung administration become a burden.

'After the July 1 event, there have been no major issues that require parties to declare their stance,' said Ma Ngok, an assistant professor of social science at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. But Mr Ma said the Liberals could come unstuck because of their go-slow approach to universal suffrage, which is promised under the Basic Law.

'They will no longer be able to evade the question of universal suffrage once the constitutional reforms take place. If the party is happy to confine itself in functional constituencies, it would be meaningless even if more people support it,' Mr Ma said.

While many in the far left might see Mr Tien as a traitor to Mr Tung for the Article 23 fiasco, Mr Tien said subsequent talks with Hong Kong's leader have convinced him that any wounds there were have been healed.

Yet Mr Tien was unsure how the party's recent moves have been perceived in Beijing. While other pro-Beijing groups were received in the capital this summer by Vice-President Zeng Qinghong, the Liberals were at first denied such a meeting last month. After a day of twists and turns, it was offered a late-evening meeting with Mr Zeng.

'I really don't know how Beijing feels,' Mr Tien said. 'I am not familiar with Chinese officials. But I think Mr Zeng met us out of concern that Beijing would be seen as opposing the July 1 protest if it refused to meet a party that is seen as standing on the side of the public.'

Pledging his loyalty to Mr Tung and the government, the former Exco member, however, warned that there were signs that the ruling coalition was crumbling, with the other political party - the DAB - switching to more oppositional politics as this autumn's District Council elections draw nearer.

'Haven't you noticed that the DAB has been trying to 'outdo' the Democrats? In Exco, DAB helps the coalition. But in Legco, the party opposes at least two major issues, namely the harbour reclamation and the land departure tax. They simply oppose as much as the Democrats do.

'Perhaps they believe that they have lost many votes in the July 1 incident,' he said, referring to the DAB's support for the Article 23 bill until the bitter end.

Mr Tien has not decided whether he will stand for direct election next autumn, saying he remained 'open-minded' to the possibility. Understandably, the implication goes far beyond his own or the party's future.

If direct elections in Hong Kong provide no room for a conservative such as Mr Tien, the business community, Tung team and Beijing would have reason to worry about what would happen if all of the Legislative Council were returned by the one-person, one-vote formula - a change that could take place as soon as 2008.