Against the backdrop of the Legislative Council building, leaders of the Democratic Alliance for Betterment of Hong Kong lined up with a group of young aspiring politicians on Wednesday to show unity, strength and hope.
Party veterans introduced the team of 26 second-tier members, who have been assigned the role of deputy spokesmen in different policy areas. A party spokesman, legislator Lau Kong-wah, said that the young members would form the pool of talent to draw on when picking candidates to run in the 2008 Legco election.
With one eye on the ministerial posts, party vice-chairman Ip Kwok-him said: 'We have seats in Legco and we need to think about how to exert power. We need a greater role to participate in policymaking.'
Despite pre-election forecasts to the contrary, the DAB surprised analysts and opponents with the amount of support it received. With 12 seats, it has emerged as the largest political party in Legco.
The high-profile move to groom young political talent comes ahead of a party meeting at a retreat on December 4 to review its long-term direction and strategy. Mr Ip said that some ministers had agreed to share their experience in policy formulation with party members.
The series of party-building initiatives represents a fresh attempt to find a role other than that of a mere counterbalance to the influence of the democrats. Twelve years after its inception, leaders hope to show that the party is a force which should be taken seriously by the government, society and Beijing.
Former DAB chairman Tsang Yok-sing echoed these sentiments in a recent interview. He said: 'The 'pan-patriotic' camp has no room for further development if it sees its only mission as putting leverage on the democratic parties.'