New party aims to fill power void

One man's downfall is another man's opportunity.

With the elimination of political opposition in the Legislative Council leaving a void to be filled, a new party - unheard of until now - has suddenly sprung up from nowhere to compete with traditional pro-Beijing factions to fill that vacuum.

Called the Bauhinia Party, the new grouping was founded by three mainland-born top company executives now active in Hong Kong's financial sector.

Although they announced their debut to the local media just a few days ago, the triumvirs immediately caused excitement in local political circles.

The three are: Li Shan, a Sichuan-born Credit Suisse banker who lives in Hong Kong; Wong Chau-chi, a migrant from Guangzhou who now chairs a Hong Kong-listed multimedia company; and Chen Jianwen, chairman of Bonjour Holdings.

Setting out to recruit 250,000 members to contest elections at all levels - including the Chief Executive Election Committee and Legislative Council - will they be successful?

Though it is too early to say, it is obvious the news has not been well received by pro-Beijing factions within Legco.

The disqualification and resignation of pan-democratic lawmakers and anticipated moves to ax pro-democracy district councillors later have left a growing vacuum to be filled.

With the Legco election being held in September next year, it is the time for all parties to warm up for the race.

Without a dramatic U-turn in Beijing's policy, pan-democrats are doomed to be excluded from the election.

Since the handover, thousands of mainlanders have gained residency in Hong Kong, with a number of them being haigui returnees from overseas.

These returnees have chosen to settle in Hong Kong instead of the mainland because of the city's free and relatively democratic way of living.

Naturally, they would like to continue living this way.

Presumably, these haiguis know as much as the DAB and more than the pan-democrats when it comes to dealing with Beijing, whose political will dictates our future.

These returnees, nonetheless, did not create any platform to voice their opinions over the years.

On a bitter note, the development may be viewed as a fresh attempt by the mainland to expand its political territory at various levels.

But could there be a brighter note? Given their understanding of Beijing, they may know how to deal with the latter with a view to maintaining the way of life which attracted them to Hong Kong in the first place.

And it's a fact that the pro-establishment factions in Legco are viewed by many as being a bunch of yes-men and women.

Although it is too early to predict success, there is a chance for the new party to succeed in view of its highly educated and professional niche that existing pro-Beijing factions lack.

It is too simplistic to criticize them merely as just another organization formed by Beijing.

As recruitment starts, they will likely aim at peers from similar backgrounds to form the backbone of the new party.

But an uncertainty facing them is whether new migrants are enthusiastic about politics.