No officials attend Third Side dinner; Tik Chi-yuen: “It doesn’t mean anything”
新思維晚宴官員無到 狄志遠：無話代表咩
Third Side held a fundraising dinner last night at a restaurant in Tsim Sha Tsui to mark its 10th anniversary. The dinner, its second after the previous one two years ago, had 20 tables and raised nearly HK$500,000. As with the previous dinner, no officials attended this year. Lam Chun-sing of the Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions was the only member of a pro-establishment party in the current Legislative Council to attend, while Shih Wing-ching, chairman of Centaline Group, attended on behalf of the business sector. Third Side chairman Tik Chi-yuen stressed that the party had good relations with the government and pro-establishment camp, saying, “A dinner doesn’t equal everything … it doesn’t mean anything whether they come or not.” Tik said the Chief Executive and all bureau secretaries and directors had been invited. He said the absence of officials did not mean that the party had little chance of being allowed to enter the race in this year’s Legislative Council election. As for the pro-establishment parties, a Democratic Alliance for Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong lawmaker attended the dinner two years ago, but none attended this time. Lam So-wai, a lawmaker for New Territories South East, pulled out at the last minute.
新思維成立10周年，繼前年之後再辦籌款晚宴，噚晚喺尖沙嘴嘅酒樓筵開20席，籌得近50萬元。今年晚宴同前年一樣無官員出席，現屆立法會建制黨派只得勞聯林振昇現身，商界就有中原集團主席施永青出席。新思維主席狄志遠強調跟政府及建制派關係良好，「晚宴唔等於一切……無話嚟代表咩，唔嚟又代表咩」。 阿狄話邀請咗特首同所有司局長等，最終無官員現身，佢認為唔代表年底立法會選舉「入閘」機會微。至於建制黨派，前年民建聯有議員出席，今次就無。新界東南議員林素蔚就臨時甩底。