周梁淑怡
The fate of the party hung in the balance after its poor showing in the 2008 Legislative Council election. The party won seven seats, all in the functional constituencies, eliminating its limited public mandate; James Tien and Selina Chow both lost their geographical constituency seats, and both resigned their party functions. There were recriminations when Chow blamed the loss of her seat on Heung Yee Kuk chairman and Liberal Party member Lau Wong-fat for canvassing for the DAB during the elections. Former chairman Allen Lee said that the party was now "doomed" following their poll defeat because of a succession crisis and lack of funding. Miriam Lau succeeded Tien as the chairwoman of the party, while Tommy Cheung and Vincent Fang became vice-chairmen.