Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong

Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong
香港經濟民生聯盟
Abbreviation BPA
Chairman Lo Wai-kwok
Vice-Chairmen Jeffrey Lam
Christopher Cheung
Priscilla Leung
Kenneth Lau
Honorary Chairmen Lau Wong-fat
Andrew Leung
Founded 21 August 2011 (2011-08-21)
(as alliance)
7 October 2012 (2012-10-07)
(as party)
Merger of Economic Synergy
Professional Forum
Headquarters 3204A, 32/F, Tower 1,
Admiralty Centre,
18 Harcourt Road,
Hong Kong
Ideology Conservatism (HK)
Economic liberalism
Political position Centre-right
Regional affiliation Pro-Beijing camp
Colours      Blue
Executive Council
1 / 33
Legislative Council
7 / 70
District Councils
19 / 458
NPC (HK deputies)
0 / 36
CPPCC (HK members)
4 / 124
Website
www.bpahk.org
Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong
Traditional Chinese 香港經濟民生聯盟
Politics and government
of Hong Kong
Foreign relations

Related topics

Hong Kong portal

The Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong (Chinese: 香港經濟民生聯盟, BPA) is a pro-business pro-Beijing political party in Hong Kong. The alliance came into existence on 7 October 2012 after the 2012 Legislative Council election, as a rebranding of the former Economic Synergy and Professional Forum grouping with two other independent legislators. Chaired by Lo Wai-kwok, the party is now the second largest party in the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, holding seven seats. It also has one representative in the Executive Council and 19 seats in the District Councils.

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. Twelve 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 Ying-yen, 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-third 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 with 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]

Leadership

Chairmen

Vice-Chairmen

Secretaries-General

Honorary Chairmen

Council Chairmen

Council Vice-Chairmen

Current LegCo members

Functional constituency

Geographical constituency

Performance in elections

Legislative Council elections

Election Number of
popular votes		 % of
popular votes		 GC
seats		 FC
seats		 Total seats +/− Position
2016 49,745Steady 2.29Steady 1 6
7 / 70
 7Increase 2ndSteady

District Council elections

Election Number of
popular votes		 % of
popular votes		 Total
elected seats		 +/−
2015 27,452Steady 1.90Steady
10 / 431
 4Decrease

References

  1. ↑ So, Bennis Wai Yip; Kao, Yuang-kuang (2014). The Changing Policy-Making Process in Greater China: Mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong: Case Research from Mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Routledge. p. 112.
  2. ↑ But, Joshua (9 January 2013). "Business Professionals Alliance 'has no fear' of direct elections".
  3. ↑ "Why Did Pro-Beijing Lawmakers Walk Out of the Hong Kong Vote?". The Wall Street Journal. 18 June 2015.
  4. ↑ Lam, Hang-chi (18 June 2015). "And so, we stagger into an even more uncertain future". ejinsight.
  5. ↑ Cheung, Tony; Lai, Ying-kit; Lam, Jeffie (20 June 2015). "Bickering escalates in pro-Beijing camp over bungled Legco vote on Hong Kong political reform". South China Morning Post.
  6. ↑ "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.
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