'Democratic Party Should Run For Legco Or Dissolve'

Former Democratic Party legislator Fred Li said on Thursday that the party should dissolve if it doesn’t run in any elections.

He said the party should try to file candidates even if they may not get enough nominations or eventually be disqualified.

“A party should run in elections and get seats. If the party keeps taking part in elections but cannot get any seats in Legco, how representative and how legitimate is it for the people? And how can it influence and monitor the government? If it fails in every aspect, it should fold,” said Li.

“I agree that the political situation is getting worse for the pro-democracy camp to join elections. If there’s no room, we shouldn’t exist. As a political party, if we sign up for the election but fail… I’m not talking about people not voting for us, I’m saying if we can’t enter the race, then perhaps the Democratic Party has completed its historic mission,” he told an RTHK programme.

He was speaking ahead of a secret ballot on Sunday in which party members will vote on whether to boycott the Legco polls in December.

But the former lawmaker conceded that he believed his view is not shared by the majority of the party members.

Li had been a lawmaker since before the handover, and announced in 2012 that he would stop running in Legco elections.

He said he hasn’t changed his mind.

“I will definitely not run. I have handed over to others, there’s no point for me to return. I am old,” he said.

The vice-chairman of the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, Lo Man-tuen, had said in an interview with Ming Pao that Democratic Party’s leadership risks breaching the Basic Law if they decide to boycott Legco.

Lo also said the loyalty of all party members to the Basic Law and the SAR would then be called into question.

In response, Li said he would read Lo’s views but merely as a reference, as he doesn’t think Lo represents the stance of central authorities.