Can Democratic Party be divided and still conquer?

Four years ago, the Democratic Party alienated its allies by entering into private talks with Beijing.

Today, the 20-year-old party stands again at the crossroads of political reform, by turns moderate and radical, seemingly cautious about radical reform and yet aligning itself with the Occupy Central civil disobedience drive.

On one hand, it is not party to the majority call in the pan-democratic camp that the public's right to nominate chief executive hopefuls in 2017 is "indispensable" - an idea that government officials on both sides of the border have shot down.

But the Democrats do insist, like the rest of the camp, that the city's electoral reforms must follow international standards on universal suffrage.

Notably, they are also the only pan-democrats who have officially taken an oath, on February 5, to join the Occupy campaign, which plans to block the main financial district if the government fails to deliver a satisfactory democracy model to elect the city's chief executive.

Just on Tuesday, party chairwoman Emily Lau Wai-hing reiterated their resolve to take part in the civil disobedience action, which could happen as soon as next month when the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress presents principles for the reform framework.