The Democratic Party is to investigate whether an unprecedented no-confidence motion in vice-chairman Yeung Sum is legal and constitutional.
The motion was carried by 19 votes to six at the party's Hong Kong Island regional office's annual meeting on Tuesday in Dr Yeung's absence.
The move brought fears of fresh discord between the party's mainstream camp and the more radical 'Young Turks' faction.
The motion was backed by Tsang Kin-shing and Chan Kwok-leung of the Young Turks, who lost in the district council elections last year. It was sponsored by Chu Yiu-chung, who said Dr Yeung had not given adequate support to the district offices.
Fellow vice-chairman Albert Ho Chun-yan said the motion was 'unfair and inappropriate'.
'I found it a very sudden and emotional reaction on their [the Young Turks'] part,' he said.
He said Dr Yeung should have been told of the move in advance to allow him to defend himself.
