JEFFIE LAM IN BEIJING AND GARY CHEUNG
PUBLISHED : Friday, 24 July, 2015, 11:37am
UPDATED : Friday, 24 July, 2015, 11:38am
Zhang Dejiang called on the DAB to "expand its forces" in Hong Kong. Photo: Xinhua
The state leader in charge of Hong Kong affairs this morning called on the city’s biggest pro-establishment party to unite various sectors and win wider recognition.
National People’s Congress chairman Zhang Dejiang praised the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong as the “most important group” in Hong Kong and urged them to work for the collective good of the city.
In his opening remarks before his meeting with the 34-member DAB delegation at the Great Hall of People in Beijing, the state leader said: “I hope the DAB find out what is good and hold fast to it, willing to take on heavy responsibilities and have a clear-cut stand.”
“I hope the DAB continue to contribute to the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong, and unite various sectors in the city,” Zhang said.
“I hope the DAB will win wider recognition in Hong Kong, raise its position in the society and expand its forces.”
During the DAB’s visit to Beijing in September 2006, then vice-president Zeng Qinghong told the party to strive to raise its internal quality while improving its external image. The consensus among party leaders at the time was it would need to continue recruiting young, professional and middle-class members to raise its credibility in order to meet state leaders’ expectations.
Zhang, who was quoted by Leung Chun-ying two weeks ago as saying he had “highly affirmed and is very satisfied” with the chief executive’s performance, called on the Beijing-loyalist party to support Leung and the Hong Kong government.
The party delegation will meet Wang Guangya, director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, this afternoon.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1843309/unite-hong-kong-and-win-wider-recognition-top-beijing
