DAB leader Starry Lee says party could put up its own chief executive election candidate in future

The city's biggest political party, the pro-establishment DAB, needs to groom more talent and strengthen its policy research so that it might put up its own candidate for chief executive in future, the party's new chairwoman told the yesterday.

Starry Lee Wai-king was recently elected leader of the Beijing-loyalist Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong - the first chairwoman in its 22-year history.

Last Wednesday, the government unveiled its final package of proposals for electing a new chief executive by popular ballot in 2017, but it is unlikely to be approved in the Legislative Council as 27 pan-democrat lawmakers have vowed to vote it down.

Executive councillor and lawmaker Lee, 41, believes that even if the proposal is rejected, Hong Kong will one day achieve universal suffrage, when parties such as the DAB would "play a much bigger role" in the city's politics and governance.

"Is there going to be a ruling party like what we see in the West? I think maybe not, because we have a different political system, but our level of participation will certainly be bigger," Lee said.

"We need different types of talent because, as a political party, the DAB's goal is that one day … we will be taking part in the chief executive election."

Lee suggested that her predecessors Jasper Tsang Yok-sing and Tam Yiu-chung "could be candidates" for the chief executive in 2017, should they put themselves forward. But Lee herself, Tsang and Tam have all dropped strong hints that they would not consider running.