'Democratic Party Can Survive Even If It Shuns Polls

Democratic Party chairman Lo Kin-hei said on Friday that he believes his party will continue to exist, even if it decides not to join Legislative Council elections in December.

A ballot of members will be held on Sunday as to whether the party should take part in the polls or not. Former Democratic Party lawmaker Fred Li recently said the party should dissolve if it chooses not to field candidates.

Lo said he respects Li's position, but members should be able to decide for themselves, after months of discussions and deliberations.

"Fred Li is a member who is more publicly known and more experienced. But he is still a party member and he has one vote, and he still has to persuade other party members whether to follow him or not," Lo said.

"The most important thing to me is that the party makes a decision altogether in the [extraordinary general meeting] the coming Sunday and we respect that result no matter what. I think that is the way a political party can go forward in the future."

Lo said he believes his party will still have influence among the public as long as people agree with its work, and it will continue to speak up for Hongkongers regardless of whether it joins the Legco polls or not.

"We have had no Legislative Council seats for almost one year, and we are still trying to keep up our district and community work," he said.