Co-founders of Hong Kong’s Liberal Party quit over move to strip them of honorary posts
- Veteran politicians James Tien, Selina Chow and Miriam Lau submit resignation letters to Liberal Party in protest over plans to abolish honorary chair posts
- Political analyst says move indicates party’s efforts to win back trust from Beijing and distance itself from Tien’s controversial role in pro-establishment bloc
Three veterans of Hong Kong’s pro-business Liberal Party have quit the political organisation they co-founded some 30 years ago in protest over a move by the current leadership to strip them of their posts as honorary chairs.
“The Liberal Party leadership expresses regret and the chairman is trying to persuade them to stay,” Cheung said in a statement.
The trio’s departure was triggered by the party’s proposal to strip them of their roles as honorary chairs, a position created to recognise past leaders for their past contributions. According to the party’s website, there are four such office holders – Tien, Chow, Lau and former legislator Vincent Fang Kang.
Later on Wednesday, the party’s central committee unanimously voted to formally abolish the post of honorary chair, issuing a statement on social media and thanking the office holders for their past work.
A political analyst earlier described the party’s decision as a means of distancing itself from Tien, a controversial figure in the city’s pro-establishment bloc, and winning back Beijing’s trust.
