DAB will uphold 'one country, two systems' in campaign to realise political reform for Hong Kong

The new leadership of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, led now by Starry Lee Wai-king, was elected last month. With this renewal, the DAB now has the highest number of young legislative and district council members.

Leadership succession is easier said than done. Unlike many other political parties that have attempted to carry it out but failed, the DAB has delivered.

After her election as our new chairperson, Starry pledged that the party would uphold the principle of "one country, two systems" and strive for a prosperous and stable society. As part of the patriotic camp, the DAB must ensure that "one country, two systems" is being implemented in a proper and robust manner. To the opposition, the "one country" element ought to be scrapped if at all possible, which is utterly wrong.

Take the current political reform. The opposition has railed against the government's reform package, asserting that it contravenes international standards. All candidates from the patriotic camp are portrayed as devils, while the pan-democrats also challenge the existence of the nominating committee, although this is clearly enshrined in Article 45 of the Basic Law.

Hong Kong is an inalienable part of China, yet pan-democrats believe that the city ought to carry out political reform purely in line with their own wishes, snubbing the "one country" element. They have pledged to veto any reform that fails to meet their standards.

However, one must understand that any political reform that does not have Beijing's consent will never be implemented. Pan-democrats' so-called idealistic proposition will lead us nowhere. If the reform package is vetoed, according to the framework laid down by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, our electoral arrangements will remain unchanged until we kick-start the next round of reform, whenever that may be. Time will have been wasted.