Martin Lee Chu-ming's announcement that he is retiring from the Legislative Council marks a major watershed in Hong Kong politics. His political career was launched in 1985, at a debate with two other candidates in the legal functional constituency election. It was the first Hong Kong election debate where there was real competition and combative sparks. It was electrifying.
I was there. The room was packed with the city's legal fraternity, since only they could vote. I managed to squeeze in, and had fully expected to be rooting for one of the other candidates whom I knew, Henry Litton - one of Hong Kong's best-known barristers. Mr Lee was, of course, also a leading light among lawyers. Both of them were Queen's Counsel and had been chairman of the Bar Association. The third candidate was a senior solicitor, but everyone knew the battle was between Mr Litton and Mr Lee.
Mr Lee was more straightforward and direct. He answered questions and had a view about the importance of the rule of law and pushing the democratic envelope even then. He won by a convincing margin, thus launching the most significant political career in Hong Kong. His voice was soon to represent the voice of Hong Kong people in the transition from British to Chinese rule. At the first available opportunity, in 1991, Mr Lee stood for direct election. He was ahead of his time. Before the debate, I had only met him once, through two friends who went on a trip to Beijing with him in May 1983. He was soft spoken and had a sense of humour. Several of the other members of that group would also become important figures: Allen Lee Peng-fei and Selina Chow Liang Shuk-yee were already appointed legislators, and would eventually form the Liberal Party; and Andrew Li Kwok-nang, another distinguished barrister at the time, is our current chief justice. Their trip was organised by officials at Xinhua, the pre-1997 communist party headquarters in Hong Kong, and the group went as young professionals.
Beijing had embarked on a charm offensive to woo the colony's elites by inviting them to visit the capital to meet Chinese leaders and hear about how China saw Hong Kong's future during the Sino-British negotiations. This was part of a wide united-front strategy to build confidence in the colony by keeping the elites on board.
Mr Lee was invited to sit on the Basic Law Drafting Committee, set up in 1985. There were 59 members; 23 of those were from Hong Kong. This was a highly select group of people regarded by Beijing as the most important in Hong Kong, including a dozen tycoons and leading left-wing figures. However, Mr Lee fell out of favour in 1989 after the Tiananmen crackdown and with the formation of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, of which he was a founder member.
Mr Lee has given Hong Kong what he could. But the democratic camp needs fresh ideas, which are only likely to come from new blood. It needs people who are committed to democratic life to help define the constitutional reform debate. Hong Kong also needs opposition politicians who can articulate what is wrong with the government's vision and policies, and give the people alternatives. To date, the democrats have not been able to do that. They only seem able to react to government policies.