He represented the radical "Young Turks" faction in the Democratic Party, after it merged the United Democrats and the moderate Meeting Point, against the Meeting Point faction. In December 1998, he staged a successful coup d'état in the party leadership election, which promptly brought the party into a phase of factional struggle. The Young Turks formed their own list of about ten candidates to run for the Central Committee and nominated Lau Chin-shek to run for vice-chairman against the former Meeting Point chairman Anthony Cheung. Hoping to make Lau as their factional leader, he would lead the party from the Meeting Point faction's pro-middle class, pro-laissez-faire and pro-Beijing positions to a more pro-grassroots position. Although Lau was elected vice-chairman, he resigned after the election.