Hong Kong lawmaker Michael Tien says overly close ties with Beijing prompted departure from New People’s Party
Original party practice to maintain distance with central government was not observed, he adds
Elaborating on his resignation on Monday, Tien, the party’s vice-chairman, said the frequent appearance of the central government’s liaison office officials at party events, had betrayed an original agreement by members to maintain an “appropriate distance” with the office.
“When the party was founded, we all agreed not to invite officials from the central government’s liaison office to party celebrations,” Tien said. But the practice was not observed and the situation got worse, he added.
He said it was “strange” for Ip to read out a congratulatory letter from a state leader recently for the party’s founding anniversary.
Tien also said that while it was acceptable for him to meet with Beijing representatives once a week as a delegate to the National People’s Congress, as a lawmaker it was necessary to maintain a proper distance with them to better monitor the local government.
