The DAB treads a new path in electing Starry Lee as leader

When the Democratic Alliance for Betterment of Hong Kong was founded by a group of traditional leftists in 1992, it had seemed inconceivable that one day someone with a background like Starry Lee Wai-king would take over.

The rise of Lee - from nonaffiliated district councillor to leader of the city's biggest pro-Beijing party - is an example of how a grass-roots political force extended its reach to professionals and the middle class while grooming younger members for leadership.

Tam Yiu-chung and his predecessors, Legislative Council president Jasper Tsang Yok-sing and the late Ma Lik, were part of a five-member group that founded the party in 1992. They came from organisations in the traditional leftist camp, such as schools and trade unions.

Lee, 41, grew up in a 300 sq ft flat on a public housing estate in Choi Hung with her parents and two siblings. After graduating in accountancy at the University of Science and Technology, she worked in a multinational firm and launched her political career at the age of 25.

She first stood for election in 1999, winning a seat on the Kowloon City District Council and becoming the youngest woman district councillor.

"As a young and new district councillor, Lee was very voluble and hard-working," says the Liberal Party's Ho Hin-ming, who has worked with Lee in the district council since then.