Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office
The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 sparked pro-democracy sentiments in Hong Kong. The newly formed democratic party, the United Democrats of Hong Kong, enjoyed landslide victories in the District Boards election, Urban and Regional Council election and Legislative Council election in 1991. To counter the pro-democracy influence in the legislature, the British-appointed unofficial members of the Legislative Council launched the Co-operative Resources Centre (CRC) in 1991 which transformed into the pro-business conservative Liberal Party in 1993, becoming the arch rival of the United Democrats. In 1992, the traditional leftists also formed the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB) under the direction of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office. In 1994, a group of businessmen and professionals founded the Hong Kong Progressive Alliance (HKPA) under the direction of the New China News Agency.