Can Legco veterans’ exit really invigorate Hong Kong politics?

The seventh-term Legislative Council has officially ended. I am sure few people had expected the attention Legco received over the past month, beginning with the news of Legco president Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen’s retirement.

Amid a wave of retirements, legislators over 70 years old – including stalwarts – might be forgiven for feeling the pressure to step aside to make room for new blood. The announcement over the weekend by the New People’s Party’s Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee and Lai Tung-kwok that they would not be seeking re-election completed the list: every legislator above 70 has stepped down. Beijing appears to be confident that there will be enough quality young candidates to fill all 90 seats.

Only one party, the Federation of Trade Unions, is fielding all its incumbent lawmakers in the coming election.

Leung’s party, Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong, has been hit hard. Out of its nine legislators, at least four have bowed out, with more rumoured to drop out. Five out of the 19 legislators belonging to the largest political party, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, and half of the legislators from the Liberal Party have called it quits as well.

But the shake-up doesn’t just involve the septuagenarians. Some who are stepping aside are nowhere near 70. A number have become “one-hit wonders”, that is, one-term legislators. This is more significant than some unspoken age limit rule.

Grooming political talent is one of the core tasks of political parties. The time and resources invested in prepping them – whether it is to contest an election or to become part of the governing team – are enormous. Rarely do ready and capable candidates appear out of nowhere. Thus, to replace freshman lawmakers while multi-term lawmakers stay on indicates there is more than meets the eye.

  

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