James Tien
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| James Tien Pei Chun 田北俊 |
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Chairman of the Liberal Party
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| Assumed office December, 1998 |
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| Preceded by | Allen Lee Peng Fei |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 1993 |
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| Born | January 8, 1947 Shanghai, China |
| Nationality | Chinese |
| Political party | Liberal Party |
| Residence | Hong Kong |
| Alma mater | University of Illinois |
| Occupation | Businessman |
James Tien Pei Chun GBS JP (Chinese: 田北俊) (born January 8, 1947 in Shanghai) is currently the Chairman of the Liberal Party (LP), a pro-business and pro-Beijing political party in Hong Kong, and a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo). He was also a member of the District Council of Hong Kong District Council in the Central and Western district. Professionally, he is a hugely wealthy garment merchant in Hong Kong, but his companies also invest in property and land development.
His equally loaded younger brother Michael Tien is also a businessmen, who owns the fashion chain G2000 and is the chairman of Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation.
Tien has been a member of LegCo since 1983, and was the Chairman of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, an influential business organization in Hong Kong. He became the Chairman of the LP after the resignation of its former and founding Chairman, Allen Lee Peng Fei, in December 1998.
Tien currently serves as a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and general committee member of both the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce and Federation of Hong Kong Industries.
Tien joined the Executive Council, the cabinet of the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, in July 2002 as the Chairman of LP, following the reorganization of the Council under the new accountability system of the Chief Executive. However, barely after 1 year, Tien announced his resignation from the Executive Council on July 6, 2003, after his calls to delay the controversial legislation on Article 23 of the Basic Law were rejected. His resignation caused the eventual withdrawal of the legislation and break-up of the "ruling alliance" of the Chief Executive, while his popularity and that of LP surged.
Until 2004, Tien held the seat of Commercial (First) Functional Constituency in LegCo, representing the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce's ~4,000 members. Tien ran for a seat in the geographical constituency of New Territories East in the Hong Kong Legislative Council election, 2004 and succeeded.
In 2005, the announcement that his ally Henry Tang has dropped out of the race is another upsetting piece of news about his party's political future. He initially said that he may join the Chief Executive Election, but has since chosen not to run as a candidate.
[edit] Controversies
- On 11 October 2007, it was reported that Tien had accepted MTRC CEO Chow Chung-kong's sincere apology after the latter backed Civic Party barrister Tanya Chan Suk-chong against Liberal Party lawyer and incumbent Mark Lin Man- kit in the district council election for the Peak district.[1]
- Tien explained that Chow would have to bear all the political consequences for his choice of backing a rival party's candidate. Tien made clear that he was personally infuriated by Chow's unfriendly act despite the Liberal Party's loyalty and consistent support for the rail company.[1] Tien further stated that the MTRC would face probable dissent from Liberal members in future matters involving MTRC inside district councils. [2][3]
This episode provided further evidence, if any were needed, of the fact that Hong Kong is a small village run by an even smaller clique of wealthy, influential, yet often incompetent power-brokers who get extremely upset and petulant as soon as anyone has the effrontery to cross them.
- Tien backed down on 12 October 2007 by sincerely apologising to Chow and the public at large. [4][5][6]
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b "Democratic Party eyes legal action over Tien `threats'", Hong Kong Standard. Retrieved on 2007-10-12.
- ^ Chow's Apology Accepted - Tien - RTHK news (in Chinese)
- ^ When Personal & Political Gains Become Paramount, Public Interest Goes Out The Window - Mingpao News (in Chinese)
- ^ Tien Withdraws Comments Against Chow's District Council Nomination - RTHK news (in Chinese)
- ^ 1330 edition news - Cable TV, 12 October 2007
- ^ "Tien apologises for comments about MTRC chief", RTHK news, 2007-10-12. Retrieved on 2007-10-12.
| Preceded by Allen Lee Peng Fei |
Chairman of the Liberal Party of Hong Kong 1998-present |
Succeeded by current incumbent |
| Preceded by N/A |
District Council of Hong Kong District Council for Central and Western district 1999–2003 |
Succeeded by N/A |
| Preceded by N/A |
Legislative Councillor for the Geographical Constituency for New Territories East 2004-present |
Succeeded by incumbent |
