From a jail cell to the corridors of power, outgoing Hong Kong minister Tsang Tak-sing harbours no regrets

Tsang Tak-sing caused quite a stir in 2007 when he was made home affairs minister, owing to a criminal conviction from the 1967 riots and his distinct background as a Beijing loyalist.

A Form Six student at St Paul's College at the time of the anti-colonial unrest, Tsang was arrested and jailed for two years for distributing "inflammatory leaflets" in which he condemned the education system of the time.

On more than one occasion since, he has said he harbours no regrets over the actions of his youth. Some say his jail term was political oppression since his offence did not involve violence.

Although the conviction stripped him of a chance to go to university and become part of the colonial elite, Tsang became a rising star inside the pro-Beijing media after walking free from prison in 1969. He was made chief editor of in 1988, and has since also served four terms as a Hong Kong deputy to the National People's Congress.

He raised eyebrows when he became a minister in 2007 with a tirade he delivered during a Legislative Council debate against Anson Chan Fang On-sang, the former chief secretary and pan-democratic politician, when he called her a "sudden democrat".

"Our new legislator today is a former official … [Unless] she believes colonial rule was democracy, I don't know whether she has worked for people's livelihood or officials' livelihood," he said.