As the Year of the Rat dawns, a young generation of Hongkongers is gradually moving into the centre of the city's politics. Generational change is dawning. It can be seen in the expected growth in the number of first-time candidates for seats in September's Legislative Council election. And it is apparent in the election as local deputies of more young professionals, and the offspring of business heavyweights, to the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
The creation of the Centum Charitas Foundation also indicates increased activism among the children of tycoons, although their political intent is unclear.
But a crucial question remains for young people on both sides of the political divide: are they ready to play a political game that will differ vastly from that played by their predecessors?
Politics in Hong Kong is unlikely to remain 'business as usual' in the coming decade. The introduction of universal suffrage for the chief executive election in 2017, and for all of the Legislative Council in 2020 at the earliest, has reset the dial for local politics.
In fact, the new pro-establishment generation will find an uphill battle awaiting them. With the arrival of universal suffrage, the elitist approach to politics - that their predecessors were so accustomed to - will have to compete with, if not give way to, politics of the masses. The traditional channel for pro-establishment interests, the Election Committee, will soon be washed by waves of reforms leading up to the magical 2017 date.
The continued existence of Legco functional constituencies is expected to be seriously challenged. As events of recent months suggest, even Hong Kong delegates to the NPC and CPPCC will find it harder to be insulated from local pressures.