Pro-Beijing D.A.B. aims for more youthful party image
As establishment party tries to shake off 'ageing' image, youngest of six new central committee members pledges to 'stay closer to future trends'
Hong Kong's biggest political force, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, will "stay closer to the city's future trends" as younger members assume a greater role, a newly-elected member of the party's managing body said.
Jiff Yiu Ming, 28, was the youngest among six new faces who were returned as members of the DAB's central committee on Monday. The six also included 28-year-old Kwun Tong district councillor Frankie Ngan Man-yu, 41-year-old Kowloon City district councillor Raymond Luk King-kwong and Clement Woo Kin-man, 47, vice-chairman of the pro-establishment party's Tai Po branch.
Yiu also became the third Northern district councillor in the 52-strong committee, with Lau Kwok-fan, 33, and Brave Chan Yung both winning another term.
"Lau and I are both from the district with a lot of issues, such as parallel trading and cross-border schoolchildren. So I wanted to join the central committee to bring in the community's voices … and reflect our views to the central government," he said.
On Monday, Beijing scrapped multiple-entry permits for Shenzhen residents, restricting them to one Hong Kong visit per week, in bid to curb cross-border traders, but Yiu said it will take time to see whether the change worked.
"The six of us [new members] are relatively young, so I hope we will also bring changes to some older ideas of the party, because the DAB is regarded as quite conservative on several policy aspects," Yiu said.