Jasper Tsang Yok-sing
Jasper Tsang Yok-sing, GBS, JP (曾鈺成) (born 1947) is a former Chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB), the largest pro-Beijing political party in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. He is currently a member of both the Executive Council and Legislative Council.
His other public services include being a Member of The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, 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.
Tsang is elected into the Legislative Council from the Kowloon West Geographical Constituency via direct election. Due to the setback of the DAB in the District Council elections in November 2003, he resigned from the position of Chairman from DAB.
Tsang received his primary and secondary education in St. Paul's College, Hong Kong, and graduated with honours from the University of Hong Kong with a bachelor degree in mathematics in 1968. Trained as a teacher later in the University of Hong Kong, he began his teaching career in Pui Kiu Middle School, a "pro-Beijing" secondary school. He obtained a master degree in education in 1983, and worked all the way up to become the principal of the school in 1986. He left his position in the school to became a full time politician in 1998.
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 into the committee responsible for the preparatory work for the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Tsang had been the chairman of the DAB since it was founded in 1992. His party was perceived as pro-Government in a number of public policies. Most notably, DAB is largely supportive of Government's proposed legislation to implement Article 23 of the Basic Law. This has drawn heavy criticisms from the pro-democratic camp and other critics of the legislation.
In particular, after the mass protest in 1 July 2003 to voice dissatisfaction against the proposed legislation and the Government, Tsang remarked that many of those who took to the street have been misled. This has caused widespread anger among the public, and although Tsang publicly apologized a few days later, the image and popularity of him and the party were severely affected.
Tsang shouldered the responsibility to the poor performance of his party in the 2003 District Council election, and resigned from the party's chairmanship in December 2003. He was succeeded by Ma Lik as Chairman of the DAB.
See also: Politics of Hong KongBiography