Alliance hopes to woo professionals, business in fight for democracy
A new professional alliance due to be inaugurated next month could become a key tool for winning over the professional and business community to universal suffrage, analysts say.
It will register its name tomorrow as the Professional Commons. Members are confident they will number more than 100 by the time of the opening ceremony.
With debate on the future of functional constituencies having reached deadlock, observers say the new body could challenge the Coalition of Professional Services, led by Executive Council convenor Leung Chun-ying.
Launched by about 50 Election Committee members, most of whom nominated Alan Leong Kah-kit in his unsuccessful bid for the chief executive last month, the body aims to promote universal suffrage by 2012, monitor the government's operation, push for civil participation in public affairs and promote independence among the professions.
Its core members include veteran engineer Albert Lai Kwong-tak; a former president of the Internet Service Providers Association, Charles Mok Nai-kwong; accountant Kenneth Leung Kai-cheong; and the vice-president of the Hong Kong Medical Association, Louis Shih Tai-cho.
About a dozen of them are Civic Party members, but they stress that the body is not affiliated to the party.
However, City University political analyst James Sung Lap-kung said the group would inevitably benefit, with Civic Party members aiming to run in the 2008 Legislative Council election.
'I'm not surprised Civic Party members are leading the push for this. It's like killing two birds with one stone. While the members gather more experience and exposure in public affairs, they also have the opportunity to network more with potential voters in the functional constituencies,' he said.
Professor Sung said Mr Lai could be preparing to challenge Raymond Ho Chung-tai for his seat as the Legco representative for the engineering constituency.
But Mr Lai, a vice-chairman of the Civic Party, said the election was not part of the group's agenda.
'This is not our objective and we are not a pressure group,' he said. 'If some of our members run for Legco, this is their individual business.'
Another Civic Party member in the professional body, Dennis Kwok Wing-hang, also stressed that the group was independent from the party, adding that some members might feel uncomfortable with being affiliated with a political party.
'We also want to involve people from a broader spectrum than the professionals represented in the functional constituencies - for example from the advertising industry,' Mr Kwok said.
Mr Lai said the new group would focus on issues of public concern and contribute to policy debates from a professional point of view.
