Chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB) Tsang Yok-shing said on Monday he had offered to resign to take responsibility forthe party's defeat in the district council election.

"We will face the defeat and draw lessons from it seriously. However, we will continue to serve Hong Kong sincerely and try to meet the expectations of all our supporters," Tsang told reporters.

In the district council election held on Sunday, DAB won only 62 seats out of the 400 elected seats, compared with 83 seats in 1999.

The party's central committee will decide whether to accept Tsang's resignation offer next Tuesday.

(Xinhua News Agency November 24, 2003)