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Hong Kong democrats suffer heavy defeat in local elections

HONG KONG -- Hong Kong democrats suffered a heavy defeat in local elections Monday with pro Beijing politicians winning a majority.

The result dealt a blow to the democrats amid an ongoing debate on establishing full democracy.

The defeat prompted Albert Ho, chairman of the Democratic Party — the city’s largest pro-democracy group — to offer his resignation, but that was rejected by party members.

Pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) won 115 of 405 contested seats in the most competitive district council polls ever, doubling the number gained in the last poll four years ago.

The pan-democrats won 106 seats, with the Democratic Party gaining only 59 seats, down from 95 last time. Its success rate was 55 percent, while that of DAB was 65 percent.

District councillors advise the government on local affairs and have little power in the bigger political picture.

But the results indicate how the parties will fare in a legislative by-election next month and in next year’s important legislative polls, analysts say, which could have an impact on the development of the city’s democratic reforms.

Democrats did well in 2003 amid public discontent over the state of the economy — largely because of the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) — and the government’s plan to enact a hugely unpopular anti-subversion law.

DAB Chairman Tam Yiu-chung said the latest results reflected people’s desire for a strong economy.

Currently, only half of the 60 member legislature is directly voted in by the electorate, while Hong Kong’s political leaders are chosen by a 800-member committee of mostly Beijing supporters.

Although universal suffrage was guaranteed in principle when Hong Kong was handed back to China by Britain in 1997, no timetable was set for when direct voting would be brought in. Local democrats are calling for universal suffrage by 2012.

Chairman Ho conceded defeat saying the opposition had more resources to build up support during the campaign.

“The Democratic Party admitted that we have failed; we accepted this failure. We realized we need to make a full review (of our strategies) and... learn from the experience,” he told reporters.

The lawyer and lawmaker said he tendered his resignation as party chairman but had been persuaded to withdraw it.

“(The party) needs me to stay during this difficult time to stabilize the situation. I respect everyone’s decision,” hoping to take the group into a new chapter and reworking on its future election strategies, he said.

Cheung Chor-yung, professor of public and social administration at City University, described the results as the most disastrous in the party’s 13-year history.

“It’s their worst performance I’ve ever seen. The fewer seats won meant they would have less income and resources, making it more difficult to attract young blood and less room to grow,” he said.

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