Chief executive wants to secure majority support in Legco Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen yesterday called on the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong to support his policy platform and urged other parties that shared his political views to back him in securing majority support in Legco. Speaking after a meeting with over 70 members at the party's headquarters, Mr Tsang also expressed the hope that the proposal to create posts for deputies and assistants to government ministers, whose consultation period ended in November, could be put to Legco for approval 'within the coming few months'. 'Today is a beginning. I hope that not only will you give me your nominations, for which I am very grateful, but the most important thing is to support my policy platforms, so as to handle the work well according to my platforms,' he told the party's Election Committee and central committee members. His comments, following the first in a series of meetings with political parties in Hong Kong, came as sources said the DAB had drafted a list of aspiring stars and planned to submit this to the administration for consideration. Immediately after the meeting, the party handed 45 nominations to Mr Tsang for his election as chief executive. With 11 votes from the catering sector, it is believed Mr Tsang now has over 500 nominations. The party holds a total of 111 votes and DAB chairman Ma Lik said some of these had already gone to the chief executive, according to their respective sub-sectors. Mr Tsang, who declared his candidacy last Thursday, said he hoped to 'reduce political bickering and solve the constitutional problem as soon as possible ... I hope that through my participation in the election, I can deepen co-operation with those political parties who share similar political views with me, so that our mutual trust can be strengthened.' He said he hoped that he could strengthen co-operation in 'political activities' with the DAB - which is the largest political party in Legco, with 12 votes. He hoped to co-operate with other parties that 'share similar political views', so that he could enjoy majority support in Legco. Speaking after the meeting, Mr Ma said the party had not discussed how they could co-operate with Mr Tsang on the political front - such as joining his cabinet - if he was elected. Party vice-chairman Ip Kwok-him said: 'We would fully mobilise our network, so that he could meet the public directly and understand the public's opinions.' It is understood that Starry Lee Wai-king, Chan Han-pan, Horace Cheung Kwok-kwan, Maggie Chan Man-ki and Ben Cheung Shui-fung are on the list submitted to the government for consideration as deputies and assistants to ministers. 'The list mainly comprises of the party's deputy spokespersons for various policy areas,' a source said, 'But only two or three of them would eventually join the government as political appointees.'
