Liberals offer to toe the line in bid for peace after call for CY's resignation
Party says it will follow the government on 'big' issues to improve relations after former leader called for chief executive's resignation
In an apparent gesture to mend relations with the government, the Liberal Party's new leadership told Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying yesterday they would toe the line on "big" issues.
They made the overture at a lunch Leung hosted at Government House, which marked the first official meeting of the two sides since the party's former leader, James Tien Pei-chun, was stripped of his membership in the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
Tien stepped down as party leader after suggesting that Leung should resign to end the political impasse over electoral reforms.
He was referring to the protests and political turmoil following Beijing's announcement of the framework for the chief executive election in 2017, which effectively allows the Central Government to vet candidates.
New Liberal Party leader Vincent Fang Kang described the atmosphere of the lunch as "not bad", and added that he appreciated the opportunity to explain the pro-business, pro-establishment party's positions to the government.
"We want the government to know that we by no means aim to confront the government, although there may be times our stances might be different from the government's," Fang said.
He added that the party fully supported the government's political reforms and firmly opposed the Occupy protests.