Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (CPC), the ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). It took a leading role in the Hong Kong 1967 Leftist riots against the British rule and was suppressed by the colonial government. In the 1980s, the HKFTU took the vanguard role in opposing faster democratisation in Hong Kong with the conservative business elites during the run up to the Chinese resumption of Hong Kong sovereignty in 1997. The HKFTU leaders became the founding members of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB), today's largest pro-Beijing party, in 1992. Since the late 2000s and early 2010s,
Flag of Hong Kong (1959–1997) interference in Hong Kong, as well as perceived Chinese breaches of Hong Kong's universal suffrage (granted by the Sino-British Joint Declaration). The first high-profile use of the old flag in protests came in 2011 during pro-democracy protests. Protesters often stated that they did not use the blue ensign to endorse Hong Kong independence or the return of Hong Kong to British control, but rather because they felt that Hong Kong had greater freedom under British rule. The protesters also said that they used the flag to express the contrasting values of China and Hong Kong. Advocates of the Hong Kong