Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong explained

Country:Hong Kong
Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong
Native Name Lang:zh-hk
Abbreviation:BPA
Chairman:Lo Wai-kwok
Leader1 Title:Vice-Chairmen
Leader1 Name:Jeffrey Lam
Christopher Cheung
Priscilla Leung
Kenneth Lau
Ng Wing-ka
Colorcode:
  1. 78caec
Merger:Economic Synergy
Professional Forum
Headquarters:3204A, 32/F, Tower 1,
Admiralty Centre,
18 Harcourt Road,
Hong Kong
Affiliation1 Title:Regional affiliation
Affiliation1:Pro-Beijing camp
Ideology:Conservatism (HK)
Economic liberalism
Chinese nationalism
Position:Centre-right to right-wing
Seats1 Title:Executive Council
Seats2 Title:Legislative Council
Seats3 Title:District Councils
Seats4 Title:NPC (HK deputies)
Colours: Blue and green
Slogan:"Business Drives Economy,
Professionalism
Improves Livelihood"
Order:jp
Showflag:stp
T:香港經濟民生聯盟
S:香港经济民生联盟
P:Xiānggǎng jīngjì mínshēng liánméng
J:Hoeng1 gong2 Ging1 zai3 Man4 sang1 Lyun4 mang4
Y:hēung góng gīng jai màhn sāng lyùhn màhng

The Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong (BPA) is a pro-business pro-Beijing political party in Hong Kong. Chaired by Lo Wai-kwok, the party is currently the second-largest party in the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, holding eight seats. It also has two representatives in the Executive Council and five seats in the District Councils.

The Alliance came into existence on 7 October 2012 after the 2012 Legislative Council election, as a rebranding of a loose pro-business parliamentary group including Economic Synergy and Professional Forum, as well as two other nonpartisan legislators who mostly came from trade-based functional constituencies consisting of Hong Kong's leading chambers of commerce or business sectors. Out of the seven founding legislators, the party's only directly elected representative was Priscilla Leung of Kowloon West.

The party immediately emerged as the second-largest party in the legislature, overtaking the Liberal Party who had an uneasy relationship with Beijing as the representative for the big business interests. It also slowly expanded its grassroots by absorbing Priscilla Leung's Kowloon West New Dynamic and won 10 seats in the 2015 District Council election. The Alliance retained its seven seats in the 2016 Legislative Council election which saw its party chairman Andrew Leung elected as the Legislative Council President.

History

Founding

The Alliance was officially launched on 7 October 2012 on the basis of a loose political alliance under the same name on 21 August 2011, where 12 members of the Legislative Council from three pro-business groups, the Liberal Party, the Professional Forum, and the Economic Synergy joined together as a counter force to the pro-labour factions in the Legislative Council as well as the government. They fought over the Competition Bill subsequent to the Minimum Wage Bill with the support of powerful business unions and representative of small and medium-sized enterprises.[1]

After the 2012 LegCo elections, members from the two members of the Professional Forum and three of the Economic Synergy with two other independent legislators officially formed the Alliance on 7 October 2012. Members were mostly supporters of Henry Tang, the former chief secretary who lost to Leung Chun-ying in the race in 2012 for the Chief Executive.[2] The group consists of seven legislators which makes it the second largest political group in the Legislative Council, six of the seven members are from the functional constituencies. Unlike the grouping of the former legislature, the Liberal Party did not join the Alliance.

Development

During the 2015 Hong Kong electoral reform, Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung of the BPA and Ip Kwok-him of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) led a walk-out of pro-Beijing legislators right before the historic vote on 18 June as an impromptu attempt to delay the division so that his party member Lau Wong-fat, who was delayed, could cast his vote in favour of the Beijing-backed reforms.[3] The government's reform proposal failed as eight legislators voted in favour and 28 voted against, barely meeting the quorum of 35.[4] Since it had been expected the reform would be voted down by 41-28 (which would fall only six votes short of the two-thirds absolute majority stipulated by the Basic Law), the failure in pro-Beijing camp's sudden tactics resulted in a surprising landslide defeat that gave the rest of the world the impression there was no support for the blueprint.[5]

In the 2015 District Council election, the BPA won 10 seats in total. The alliance retained all seven seats in the 2016 Legislative Council election with the vice-chairman Jeffrey Lam narrowly defeated Liberal Party challenger Joseph Can Ho-lim in Commercial (First). After party chairman Andrew Leung was elected President of the Legislative Council, he resigned from as chairman post and was succeeded by Lo Wai-kwok. Leung was promoted as honorary chairman alongside Lau Wong-fat, while Lau's son, Kenneth Lau who took over his father seat in Heung Yee Kuk, was picked as the new vice-chairman.[6]

In December 2018, legislator Ng Wing-ka of Industrial (Second) was invited to join the party, making the alliance the second largest party in the legislature with eight seats.[7]

In February 2021, after Xia Baolong said that only "patriots" must govern Hong Kong, the BPA released a statement supporting Xia's position and that it looks forward to the changes.[8] Additionally, the BPA claimed that Beijing is not trying to suppress antigovernmental voices.[9]

Leadership

Chairmen

Vice-Chairmen

Secretaries-General

Honorary Chairmen

Council Chairmen

Council Vice-Chairmen

Performance in elections

Legislative Council elections

ElectionNumber of
popular votes
% of
popular votes
GC
seats
FC
seats
EC
seats
Total seats+/−Position
201649,7452.291602nd
202105213rd

District Council elections

ElectionNumber of
popular votes
% of
popular votes

seats

seats

seats

seats
Total seats+/−
201527,4521.90111
201966,5042.27327
202359,1055.044810218

Representatives

Executive Council

Legislative Council

Constituency Member
Andrew Leung
Ng Wing-ka
Jeffrey Lam
Kenneth Lau
EngineeringLo Wai-kwok
Textiles and GarmentSunny Tan
Real Estate and ConstructionLouis Loong
Election CommitteeBenson Luk
Priscilla Leung

District Councils

The BPA holds 24 seats in 11 District Councils (2024–2027):

District Constituency Member
EasternAppointedKacee Ting Wong
SouthernDistrict CommitteesAdam Lai Ka-chi
Howard Chao
Yau Tsim MongYau Tsim Mong NorthLi Sze-man
District CommitteesWong Kin-san
AppointedChan Siu-tong
Rowena Wong Siu-ming
Sham Shui PoSham Shui Po EastChan Kwok-wai
District CommitteeJeffrey Pong Chiu-fai
AppointedAaron Lam Ka-fai
Kowloon CityKowloon City SouthLee Chiu-yiu
District CommitteeLeung Yuen-ting
AppointedSteven Cho Wui-hung
He Huahan
Tuen MunEx officioKenneth Lau Ip-keung
Yuen LongAppointedChong Kin-shing
NorthZinnie Chow Tin-yi
Tai PoTai Po SouthLo Hiu-fung
District CommitteesRex Li Wah-kwong
AppointedChan Cho-leung
Sha TinEx officioMok Kam-kwai
Kwai TsingDistrict CommitteesAriel Mok Yee-ki

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: 112. The Changing Policy-Making Process in Greater China: Mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong: Case Research from Mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Bennis Wai Yip. So. Yuang-kuang. Kao. Routledge. 2014.
  2. News: Business Professionals Alliance 'has no fear' of direct elections. But. Joshua. 9 January 2013.
  3. News: Why Did Pro-Beijing Lawmakers Walk Out of the Hong Kong Vote?. The Wall Street Journal. 18 June 2015.
  4. News: ejinsight. Hang-chi. Lam. And so, we stagger into an even more uncertain future. 18 June 2015.
  5. News: Bickering escalates in pro-Beijing camp over bungled Legco vote on Hong Kong political reform. 20 June 2015. South China Morning Post. Tony. Cheung. Lai. Ying-kit. Jeffie. Lam.
  6. News: 盧偉國接替梁君彥任經民聯主席 劉業強增選為副主席. HK01. 13 October 2016.
  7. News: 政Whats噏:吳永嘉入工商界政黨 一餐飯決定. 2018-12-22. on.cc.
  8. Web site: 'Beijing must lead HK's electoral reforms' - RTHK. 2021-02-22. news.rthk.hk. en-gb.
  9. Web site: Legco looking forward to 'whatever Beijing decides' - RTHK. 2021-02-24. news.rthk.hk. en-gb.