DAB dilutes democracy stance - again
Chairman shifts emphasis from 2012 to creating conducive conditions
A pro-Beijing party yesterday further softened its stance on universal suffrage, saying it was more important to create conditions conducive to implementing it rather than pushing for its introduction in 2012.
The Democratic Alliance for Betterment of Hong Kong promises in its campaign platform that it will fight for universal suffrage for the chief executive and Legco in 2012.
But in his keynote speech to a rally attended by more than 6,000 supporters at Chater Garden in Central yesterday, party chairman Ma Lik seemed to try to divert public attention from the promise.
'After the DAB's publication of its election platform, many news media focused their attention on our fight for universal suffrage ... in 2012 as our target, but I think it is more important to create the conditions conducive to reaching the target,' Mr Ma said.
He gave four preconditions, which included closer economic integration with the Pearl River Delta and successful economic restructuring and the nurturing of 'sufficient political talents' to enable 'the realisation of balanced participation in elections through universal suffrage'.
The two other preconditions were increases in patriotic and civic education of the masses.
The DAB's softer stance on universal suffrage was set out in a press release yesterday.
'We believe that if these four conditions were ripe and if a common understanding on political development had been reached in society, these should aid in dissipating the central government's worries over implementing universal suffrage and the actual implementation in 2012 could happen,' it said.
Executive Councillor Cheng Yiu-tong said he hoped universal suffrage could be adopted in the 2012 elections.
But across Victoria Harbour at the Cultural Centre's piazza in Tsim Sha Tsui, the Democratic Party remained steadfast on the issue at a rally of 500 campaigners, insisting on universal suffrage in 2007 and 2008.
Chairman Yeung Sum said the party would staunchly support democracy as well as a simple and low tax structure.
'We support democracy and the central government's vindication of the June 4 incident,' he said.
'But at the same time, we will adopt a milder approach and seek to open a dialogue with the central government and co-operate with it to work for a genuinely 'high degree of autonomy' under the principle of 'one country, two systems',' he said.
'But we'll be steadfast in our stance. Democracy is our belief.'
