Co-operative Resources Centre 啟聯資源中心 | |
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| Convenor | Allen Lee |
| Founded | 12 December 1991 |
| Dissolved | 31 March 1993 |
| Succeeded by | Liberal Party |
| Headquarters | Rm 1604,Hong Kong Club, 3AChater Road,Central, Hong Kong |
| Ideology | Conservatism (Hong Kong) Economic liberalism |
| Political position | Centre-right |
TheCo-operative Resources Centre (CRC;Chinese:啟聯資源中心) was a short-lived political group in theLegislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo). Led by theSenior Unofficial Member of theExecutive and Legislative CouncilsAllen Lee, it was established on 12 December 1991 by a group of 21 appointed and indirectly elected Legislative Council members from thefunctional constituencies. It became the largest conservative faction in the legislature countering the pro-democracyUnited Democrats of Hong Kong (UDHK) won a landslide victory in thefirst direct Legislative Council election in 1991. In 1993, it was transformed into theLiberal Party.
After thefirst ever direct election for theLegislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo) in September 1991, thepro-democracyUnited Democrats of Hong Kong (UDHK) swept the polls and became the largest party in the legislature.
The group of conservative elites in the legislature who were either appointed by thegovernor or indirectly elected through thefunctional constituencies shared a dislike for the United Democrats. Four of the Legislative Council members, Allen Lee, Selina Chow,Rita Fan andEdward Ho had also been appointed members of theExecutive Council (ExCo).[1] To curb the influence of liberals, 21 conservative legislators formed the CRC as a think tank, research unit and brain trust for a future political group on the 16th floor of theHong Kong Club inCentral.[2][3]
Led by theSenior Unofficial Member Allen Lee and his fellow LegCo colleagues,Steven Poon,Selina Chow andStephen Cheong, 12 legislators appointed by the British colonial government and 8 legislators indirectly elected by thefunctional constituencies aligned themselves. Being the convenor of the group, Allen Lee and stood down as theSenior Unofficial Member of the Legislative Council to avoid a conflict of interest. Within a month, CRC had secured 17 of the 32 convenor and deputy convenor posts of the Legislative Council panels. By January 1992, the group issued a joint statement stating that "members agree at this point the CRC is not a political party but a political entity formed by a group of legislators in order to serve the people of Hongkong better."[3]
By July, two founders,engineeringSamuel Wong and appointed memberVincent Cheng left the group. In October, ProfessorFelice Lieh Mak quit the group and she was appointed to the Executive Council. On 7 October 1992, all four CRC members in the Executive Council, Rita Fan and Allen Lee, Selina Chow and Edward Ho were dumped from the Council bygovernorChris Patten as the governor wanted devoid of party politics. Rita Fan quit Executive and Legislative Councils as well as the CRC on the same day.[3]
In mid 1992, the CRC set up a working group to look at forming a political party with other like-minded organisations. The CRC had courted groups such as theBusiness and Professionals Federation of Hong Kong consisting of about 150 members, mostly highly successful businessmen or companies, theLiberal Democratic Federation of Hong Kong with about 150 members and the rural powerbrokers in theHeung Yee Kuk consisting of 155 members representing about 300,000indigenous New Territories residents.[3]
The CRC ceased to function in March 1993 after an 18-month lifespan and some 14 CRC legislators joined the Liberal Party officially formed on 6 June 1993.
Convenor
Legislative Councillors:
Regional Councillors:
District Board members:
Heung Yee Kuk:
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