LIBERAL party, Meeting Point, yesterday made it plain that the political implications of Governor Mr Chris Patten's reforms had to be considered along with the principle of democracy when Legislative Council members cast their votes.
A statement on where the party stands was issued after a special meeting.
It is understood there was conflict at the meeting between the ''democrats'' and ''patriots'' in the party, with the former upholding democracy and the latter treasuring convergence with the post-1997 system.
The statement said that Meeting Point would ''uphold democracy and value convergence'', a synthesis of the ideas of the two conflicting camps.
It raised the question of whether the party was back-pedalling on its insistence for greater democracy due to Chinese pressure.
''We will first adopt the principle of democracy as one of our criteria. We will also consider a proposal's feasibility and other factors,'' the statement said.
