Vote will decide Alliance for True Democracy's fate

The fate of an alliance of lawmakers set up to push for democracy hangs in the balance today.

The Alliance for True Democracy will meet to decide whether to put operations on hold after some of its 26 members campaigned against the alliance's reform plan for the 2017 chief executive election in a vote organised by Occupy Central.

Members of People Power and the League of Social Democrats urged their radical supporters to back People Power's own reform proposal when 2,500 Occupy activists joined a "deliberation day" on May 6 to shortlist three reform plans that will be put to a public vote next month.

The alliance's proposal did make the shortlist of three, along with more radical plans from People Power and student group Scholarism.

But the Democratic Party and Labour Party lawmakers say the behaviour of the two parties destroyed trust within the alliance. They want its regular activities, including weekly meetings, put on hold, but are expected to stop short of winding the group up.

Democrat Wu Chi-wai said yesterday that while his party did not want to "dissolve" the alliance, it would cease to join in activities after June 22, the final day of Occupy's three-day "referendum" on reform. He asked: "If different bodies have their own [agenda], how can we continue to cooperate?"