Outgoing DAB chairman Tam Yiu-chung looks to a new generation
Beijing loyalist reflects on defeat that changed the course of his political career
September 17, 1995, was a red- letter day in the career of Tam Yiu-chung. The veteran Beijing-loyalist politician had given up his Legislative Council seat representing the labour sector after a decade to fight for one of 18 geographical seats elected by the public at large.
But as the votes came in for Kowloon Southeast, Tam slipped to a narrow defeat, finishing a little over 2,000 votes behind the Democratic Party candidate Fred Li Wah-ming.
It was a bitter blow to Tam, who had been the sole Legco representative of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong. But it was a brighter night for his party, which picked up six Legco seats, setting it on the way - via a merger with the Progressive Alliance - to becoming today's Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, the city's largest party.
Looking back, Tam still believes he made the right choice.
"Someone said to me, 'Why should you bother? Just stay where you are'," Tam said. "But I thought I shouldn't occupy my [labour sector] seat for too long, and I should let someone else have a chance. So I took the initiative and stood in a direct election, of which I had no experience."
Just as his departure in 1995 paved the way for six new lawmakers to begin their careers, 65-year-old Tam's decision last month to quit as DAB chairman opened the door for a new generation of leaders.