Jasper Tsang Yok-sing of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) was elected the new Legislative Council (LegCo) president at the first meeting of the new legislative year yesterday.

Tsang said after the election that he would resign from the Executive Council (ExCo).

Receiving 36 votes from the 60 newly elected legislators, the 61-year-old founding chairman of the DAB defeated Democrat Fred Li Wah-ming by 12 votes to succeed Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai who has retired from the post.

"It's a great honor for me to be elected as the LegCo president. I'm aware that the four years ahead will be full of challenges but I, together with my colleagues, will do the best," he told the media.

He said that he will keep in mind lawmakers' expectations and concerns, and will not let them down.

"I'm looking forward to working with my colleagues to turn challenges into accomplishment," he added.

Tsang was elected into the LegCo via direct election in 1998 and he is also an ExCo member. To avoid conflict of interest, Tsang said he will resign from the ExCo.

Yet it should be up to the Chief Executive to determine if another DAB member would replace him in the ExCo, Tsang added.

Meanwhile, 60 lawmakers were sworn into the LegCo and embarked on a four-year term in yesterday's meeting. Some of them added their own messages to the standard oaths.

However, the newly-elected president was not worried about such behavior.

"Perhaps some of my colleagues are more outspoken than the others, but all of them understand the rules and procedures and that they are elected into the LegCo to serve the people," Tsang said.

He added he would strike a balance between order and the freedom of speech in future meetings.

Meanwhile, Tsang vowed to cooperate with the other 59 legislators despite suspicion that some of them harbor regarding his political affiliation.

"Where my priorities lie will show when I begin my work. I will prove my impartiality with my work so that I can gain my colleagues' trust and support," he said.

(HK Edition 10/09/2008 page1)