Jasper Tsang - Politics

Politics

Tsang's involvement in politics began in 1976, when he was appointed a member of the Guangdong provincial committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. He became a member of the Conference's national committee in 1993. He took an active part in the consultative activities when the Hong Kong Basic Law was drafted in the late 1980s and was subsequently appointed to the committee responsible for the preparatory work for the establishment of Hong Kong.

He was a Council Member of the Open University of Hong Kong, a non-executive director of the Securities and Futures Commission, and the Supervisor of Pui Kiu Middle School, where he formerly served as the principal. He was also the supervisor of a newly established direct-subsidised school, the Pui Kiu College.

He ran unsuccessfully for the Legislative Council in 1995 but was elected to the Provisional Legislative Council in 1997.

Tsang was previously elected into the Legislative Council, representing the Kowloon West constituency from 2004-2008. Following the DAB's setback in the District Council elections in November 2003, he resigned the DAB chairmanship.

In 2008 Tsang was elected to be President of the Legislative Council by the newly elected legislators from the 2008 election.

In 2010, he was called on to resign from the post of president of Legco for speaking in support of the government's constitutional reform bill.

Around the time of the 2012 HK chief executive election, he has been noted for his relatively liberal views on issues such as universal suffrage, the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, which he referred to as "suppressing students was surely wrong."

During the controversy surrounding the enactment of the national security bill in Hong Kong, Tsang drew criticism for his party's support of the government's legislative initiatives. Following the 1 July 2003 protests and disappointing performance of his party in the 2003 District Council election, he resigned from the party's chairmanship in December 2003.

When running for the presidency of the Legislative Council in 2008, Tsang was asked about his membership in the Chinese Communist Party. He stated that "Since the foundation of the DAB, I have been asked whether I am a Communist Party member many times. And I can say frankly, I have never answered this question. The reason is, Hong Kong people's attitude to the concept of the Communist Party is very negative." This was generally regarded by the press as an admission to membership.

Tsang has also been criticized for the manner in which he presides over Legislative Council meetings, which has led to walkout protests, though he is perceived generally as fair and accommodating and enjoys friendly relations with both pro-establishment and pan-democratic members.