THE long-running feud between Hong Kong's leading pro-democracy parties erupted into open warfare last week with a clash over elections of senior members of the municipal councils.
Although the Democratic Party (DP) and the Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood (ADPL) insist they remain ready to co-operate for the Legislative Council elections, the insults being traded suggest there is little likelihood of that.
A dispute which began with personality clashes between leaders now has assumed serious political overtones. The parties are divided sharply in their stances towards Beijing, and the conflict is set to worsen as the ADPL positions itself for September's polls.
Chairman Frederick Fung Kin-kee said his group would talk to the Democratic Party about the Legco elections, but said the DP must reconsider its attitude towards him. 'I will try my best,' he said. 'But the Democratic Party must show its sincerity.' Last week's conflict came to a head over the election of a vice-chairman for the Urban Council, when ADPL's abstentions allowed pro-Beijing candidate Ip Kwok-chung to beat the DP's Fred Li Wah-ming.
Origins of the dispute can be traced back almost six years, to the events of June 4, 1989. The Tiananmen crackdown made local liberals realise they had to unite, if they were to survive. The United Democrats, forerunner of today's Democratic Party, was formed shortly afterwards, headed by legislators Martin Lee Chu-ming and Sezto Wah.
Many ADPL core members left to join the new party, including Albert Chan Wai-yip and Lee Wing-tat, both now Democratic Party legislators. Several heavyweights from Meeting Point, Hong Kong's third pro-democracy group, also became founding members. Although Meeting Point remained in existence until 1994, it began to work closely with the United Democrats, raising hopes that a strong Liberal coalition could be forged.
