Ma Lik was one of the first people in the local 'pro-Beijing' community to see the necessity of forming a patriotic political party to take part in popular elections in Hong Kong. He was also one of the few who realised that, as the process of democratisation continued, political parties would play an increasingly important role in the governance of Hong Kong, and the government could not remain non-partisan for long.
In the early 1990s, when memories of the June 4 incident were fresh and anti-Beijing feelings were widespread in Hong Kong, most people - including those in the pro-Beijing camp - thought that any candidate friendly with the central government would have no chance of winning in popular elections in the city. The results of the first direct election for Legislative Council seats, held in autumn 1991, provided strong proof that friendly ties with Beijing were the 'kiss of death': all the candidates with a pro-Beijing background were defeated.
No one could tell how long this anti-Beijing mood among the voters would persist. Thus, most of the prominent pro-Beijing personalities decided to stay away from the elections and looked for ways to curb the powers of the elected institutions, which would invariably be dominated by the anti-Beijing camp.
Unlike most of his pro-Beijing friends, Ma argued vigorously that the pro-Beijing camp should take an active part in Hong Kong's elections, and should form a political party for that purpose. The suggestion met with a lot of scepticism and little encouragement from most quarters, but he did not give up.
It was largely due to his unrelenting lobbying that the Democratic Alliance for Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB) came into being in the middle of 1992 although, being chief editor of a local newspaper, he did not take up any post in the party leadership when it was founded.
As a result of the DAB's participation in the polls, and the success the party has managed to achieve, the central government and a large sector of the local pro-Beijing community have taken a more positive view of popular elections in Hong Kong. Instead of regarding the elected institutions with suspicion and trying to denigrate them, the pro-Beijing camp now contests seats earnestly, without disputing the fairness of the competition.