Liberal Party

Chairman:	James Tien
Founded:	1993
Headquarters:	4/F Henley Building, 5 Queen's Road Central, Hong Kong Image File history File links File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... James Tien The Honourable James Tien Pei Chun GBS JP (田北俊) (born January 8, 1947) is currently the Chairman of the Liberal Party (LP), a pro-business and pro-Beijing political party in Hong Kong, and a Member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo). ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... Queens Road Central (皇后大道中), Queens Road East (皇后大道東) and Queens Road West (皇后大道西) are three roads on the northern shore of the Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. ... Look up Central in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Central is the name of several places: Central — a region of Scotland Central — another name for the Blue Nile state of Sudan Central — an area in Hong Kong, part of Central and Western District Central City — a city in Nebraska Central — a...
District Councillors	27
Legislative Councillors	10
Political ideology:	liberal conservative, economic liberalism
Website:	Liberal Party

Liberal Party (自由黨) is a liberal conservative political party in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. Liberal conservatism is a variant of conservatism that combines the classical conservative concern for established tradition, respect for authority and (sometimes) religious values with liberal ideas, especially on economic issues (see economic liberalism, which advocates free market capitalism). ... The liberal theory of economics is the theory of economics described by classical liberal authors such as Adam Smith or the French Physiocrats. ... Liberal conservatism is a variant of conservatism that combines the classical conservative concern for established tradition, respect for authority and (sometimes) religious values with liberal ideas, especially on economic issues (see economic liberalism, which advocates free market capitalism). ... A political party is an organization that seeks to attain political power within a government, usually by participating in electoral campaigns. ... A Special Administrative Region (SAR) (Simplified Chinese: 特别行政区; Traditional Chinese: 特別行政區; pinyin: tèbié xíngzhèngqÅ«; Cantonese IPA: /tɐk6piːt6 hɐŋ4tsɪŋ3kʰɵy1/; Jyutping: dak6bit6 hang4zing3keoi1; Yale: dahkbiht hàhngjingkeÅ«i) is a political subdivision of the Peoples Republic of China. ...

Party Beliefs

The party is known for its conservative and business-friendly policies. Although not a libertarian party in the traditional sense, the Hong Kong Liberal Party is an example of a political party with libertarian economic policies such as the opposition of a minimum wage, collective bargaining, and antitrust legislation. The party also supports limited government, low taxes, and a high degree of economic freedom; it's lukewarm to universal suffrage, but at the same time it opposes authoritarian measures: the resignation from the Executive Council by its leader James Tien in 2003 prevented the enactment of the ill-conceived implementation of the Article 23 of the Basic Law (see below), and ultimately accelerated the downfall of the ineffective and unpopular Tung administration. Libertarianism is a political philosophy[1] advocating that individuals should be free to do whatever they wish with their person or property, as long as they do not infringe on the same liberty of others. ... Hong Kong Basic Law Article 23 is the basis (parent statute) of a security law proposed by the Hong Kong Government. ... Cover of Index to the Basic Law The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China (中華人民共和國香港特別行政區基本法; or in short 香港基本法 or 基本法) serves as the constitutional document of Hong Kong. ...

Consistently with its economic policies, the party does not advocate welfare entitlements. Many of its members are from the merchant and business sectors.

History

It was originally founded as a party of businesspeople appointed to the Legislative Council by the colonial government. The Legislative Council (abbreviated as LegCo; Chinese: 立法會, Pinyin: Lìfǎ Huì; formerly 立法局, Lìfǎ Jú) is the unicameral legislature of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China. ... This article will detail the history of Colonial Hong Kong. ...

Changes in political stance

It has been alleged that the party began leaning towards PRC's Central People's Government in Beijing within the few years before the transfer of sovereignty. Since the transfer of sovereignty it had been an ally of Tung Chee Hwa's administration. As at November 2005 it has been an ally of the administration of Donald Tsang. In 1982, the governments of the United Kingdom and the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) initiated talks regarding the sovereignty of Hong Kong, which led to the transfer of the sovereignty of Hong Kong. ... Lo Mung Tung Lo Mung Tung (Traditional Chinese: 老懵董; Simplified Chinese: 白菜; Cantonese IPA: ; Jyutping: dung2 gin3 waa4; Mandarin Pinyin: Dǒng Jiànhuá) (July 7, 1937-December 8, 2005) was the first elected Chief Executive (July 1, 1997–March 12, 2005) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People... Sir Donald Tsang Yam Kuen GBM JP KBE (Chinese: 曾蔭權, Pinyin: Zēng Yīnquán, born October 7, 1944) has been the Chief Executive of Hong Kong since 2005. ...

In July 6, 2003, James Tien Pei Chun the leader of Liberal Party resigned from the Executive Council of Hong Kong and forced the government to delay the second reading of the legislation to implement Article 23 of the Basic Law. It was a sharp turn from his usual pro-government policy and was praised as heroic in temporarily relaxing a big conflict between the government and the pro-democracy camp supporters; some in the Leftist field, however, feel that this demonstrated the opportunistic nature of businesspeople. July 6 is the 187th day of the year (188th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 178 days remaining. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... James Tien The Honourable James Tien Pei Chun GBS JP (田北俊) (born January 8, 1947) is currently the Chairman of the Liberal Party (LP), a pro-business and pro-Beijing political party in Hong Kong, and a Member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo). ... The Executive Council (ExCo) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China is an organ in the Executive branch of the political structure of Hong Kong. ... A second reading is the state of the legislative process where a draft of a bill is read a second time. ... Hong Kong Basic Law Article 23 is the basis (parent statute) of a security law proposed by the Hong Kong Government. ... Cover of Index to the Basic Law The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China (中華人民共和國香港特別行政區基本法; or in short 香港基本法 or 基本法) serves as the constitutional document of Hong Kong. ...

However, at almost the same time, Liberal Party decided to change its policy from "all Legislation members should be directly elected in 2007" to "Hong Kong should become more democratic." The founder and ex-chair of Liberal Party, Allen Lee Peng Fei, decided to leave the party since he believed the change was against public sentiments. Their stance in universal suffrage is similar to that of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB); namely, universal suffrage should be implemented on or after 2012 rather than 2007/8. The Honourable Allen Lee Peng-fei CBE Hong Kong politician. ... The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) (民主建港協進聯盟, formerly 民主建港聯盟, or 民建聯 in short) is the largest pro-Beijing political party in Hong Kong SAR of the PRC. Founded in 10 July 1992, the party has been headed by Ma Lik since December 2003. ...

In January 13, 2006, the Liberal Party has opposed Chief Executive Donald Tsang's plan of implementing a five day work week for most civil servants, due to concerns that this would put too much pressure on small to medium sized enterprises to cut their work week down to five days as well. Many large enterprises are mulling over cutting down the work week to five days a week. Presently, most businesse offer a five and a half day work week. There is no planned legislation to force private employers to offer a five day work week. January 13 is the 13th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Sir Donald Tsang Yam Kuen GBM JP KBE (Chinese: 曾蔭權, Pinyin: Zēng Yīnquán, born October 7, 1944) has been the Chief Executive of Hong Kong since 2005. ...

Performance in Elections

The Liberal Party saw its greatest success in the 2004 Legislative Council elections. With its success in gaining seats from the geographical constituencies through direct elections while retaining those seats in the functional constituencies, the party had its number of seats increased from seven (in 2000 elections) to ten, overtaking the Democratic Party for the first time since 1995 and became the second-largest political party in the legislature. 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Legislative Council (abbreviated as LegCo; Chinese: 立法會, Pinyin: Lìfǎ Huì; formerly 立法局, Lìfǎ Jú) is the unicameral legislature of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China. ... A functional constituency, in Hong Kong politics, refers to professional and special interest groups involved in the electoral process. ... The Democratic Party (民主黨, Hanyu: mín zhǔ dǎng, Jyutping: man zyu dong) is a pro-democracy and liberal political party in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China. ...

List of its chairmen:

1. Allen Lee (1993-1998)
2. James Tien (since 1998)

The Honourable Allen Lee Peng-fei CBE Hong Kong politician. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... James Tien The Honourable James Tien Pei Chun GBS JP (田北俊) (born January 8, 1947) is currently the Chairman of the Liberal Party (LP), a pro-business and pro-Beijing political party in Hong Kong, and a Member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo). ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...

See also

• Corporativism

The term corporatism has different meanings in different contexts. ...

External link

• Liberal Party official site (in Chinese) (Click 'English' in the top right-hand corner for the English version)

 

Political parties and groups in Hong Kong *
Pro-democracy:	April Fifth Action | Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood (ADPL) | Civic Party (CP) | Democratic Party (DP) | Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU) | Neighbourhood and Workers Service Centre (NWSC) | The Frontier
Pro-Beijing / Pro-government:	Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) | Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (HKFTU) | Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions (FLU) | Liberal Party (LP) | The Alliance
* Represented in the Legislative Council