City Beat | Old guard needs some young blood

In terms of succession planning, one political party stands out: the pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB).

When Tam Yiu-chung, 65, chairman of the city's biggest political party, steps down in March he is expected to be succeeded by a woman 25 years his junior - lawmaker Starry Lee Wai-king, who is also an Executive Council member.

Tam's decision not to run for another term puts an end to speculation over whether the founding party member - who is seen as an elder in the pro-Beijing camp - would stay on to lead the party in the 2016 Legislative Council. Tam has led the party since 2007.

The veteran lawmaker has said he would like to see more young blood in the party, but that's not the only reason Lee, 40, is likely to succeed him. It's also a strategic move - not just for the party, but for the whole pro-establishment camp.

Beijing has never been keen on party politics in Hong Kong. But two weeks ago, a visiting Basic Law expert from Shenzhen University, Professor Zhang Dinghuai, told a seminar on political reform: "If democratic development in Hong Kong is the trend, party politics is inevitable."

Zhang, who is also a member of the semi-official Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, added that party politics would be possible only with proper regulation to ban parties from challenging the sovereignty of the country or the central government.

This idea is unlikely to win favour with the pan-democrats, who have been advocating party politics for decades. But at least Zhang, a mainland academic, has openly said the words "party politics" - and linked it as an important factor for democracy in Hong Kong.