Both Beijing and the SAR Government would have second thoughts if the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong objected to their proposals, its chairman claimed yesterday.
Defending the party's 'pro-government' label, Tsang Yok-sing said it had discouraged Beijing and the SAR Government from pushing ahead with proposals the party believed were against Hong Kong's interests.
'To put it simply, if DAB opposes, Beijing will think twice. Then it dares not push it further,' he said when questioned at an election forum last night.
On the issue of developing democracy, Mr Tsang's Kowloon West election running mate, Chung Kong-mo, said the party would support direct election of the Chief Executive in 2007 and the whole legislature in 2008. But his statement was apparently not endorsed by Mr Tsang.
The chairman of the Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood, Frederick Fung Kin-kee, said Mr Tung had failed to improve ordinary people's livelihood and he would not welcome Mr Tung's re-election in 2002.
Lau Chin-shek of the Confederation of Trade Unions said he was grateful for Mr Tung's help in arranging a reunion with his mother on the mainland this year, but he was adamant the Chief Executive was to blame for the plight of workers since the handover.