Leung Sze-ho – the independent who wants to block filibustering in Legco

February 27, 2016

Leung says the key is to modify the rules of procedures after he gets elected to the Legislative Council.

By Rubie Fan

Barrister Albert Leung Sze-ho was the last candidate to submit his nomination for the upcoming New Territories East by-election. He claims to be an independent candidate, though he is the director of two member unions in the pro-Beijing Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions.

“I am no longer in the pro-establishment camp.” Leung says.

When asked about why he joined the election so late in the game, Leung says the key is his idea to change the rules of procedure in the Legislative Council. He says that’s better than what pro-establishment candidate Holden Chow Ho-ding has to offer.

“(My idea) can balance the views of pan-democrats and the pro-establishment, fostering social harmony,” he adds. “I brought up the idea in November and declared my intention to enter the race. However, after a discussion, the pro-establishment camp said Chow would be the most suitable person.”

To stop pan-democrats from filibustering (which means delaying or preventing a vote on proposals in the Legislative Council) Leung suggested changing the rules of procedures in Legco by limiting the number of hours each Legislative Councilor can filibuster each time.

“If each Legislative Councilor were given 10 hours to filibuster, the whole pan-democratic camp would have 260 hours. This is enough for them,” Leung says. “I believe I can act as a mediator between the pan-democrats and the pro-establishment camp. My idea can minimize confrontation in the Legislative Council.”

He also says that if he were elected, he would compromise with the Labor Party and the Democratic Party.

“We do not need (Legco president) Jasper Tsang-Yok sing’s vote if I can get their support.”

Leung adds that the 2016-17 Budget, which was released the day before our interview, is not as good as it could have been because it does not encourage communication between different parties in Hong Kong.

“The budget has nothing to say about fostering harmony and communication in society. CY Leung (Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying) kept condemning the protestors, did not encourage communication, and does not think that the protests started because of social problems. John Tsang (the financial secretary) is just listening to his boss.”

He says that social problems led to the recent protests in Hong Kong, and that the government just condemns what people do without trying to communicate, like a bad teacher.

“When students do something wrong, teachers can hit and beat them and scold them for being rebellious. But that ignores the fundamental problem – they used the wrong teaching method in the first place.”

The other candidates are Lau Chi-shing, Wong Sing-chi, Holden Chow Ho-ding, Christine Fong Kwok-shan, Leung Tin-kei and Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu.

Edited by Tiff Chan

Former Democrat reinvents himself as “third way” Ultraman

February 27, 2016

Nelson Wong wants to claim the political ground between the pro-establishment and pan-democratic sides

By Stanley Lam

Nelson Wong Sing-Chi’s name that might not ring a bell with many young voters, but when they hear he is the New Territories East by-election candidate who donned an Ultraman suit in his campaign video, there may be a flicker of recognition.

Nelson Wong poses as Ultraman (from his Facebook page)

Wong explains he dressed in up in superhero garb because he was afraid the by-election was too boring and wanted to lighten things up. There is also a message, “Monsters are sinful, we have to eliminate them,” he says, alluding to Ultraman’s superhero feats.

Whereas Ultraman fights crime with physical force, Wong says he has been fighting for the democratic force through politics for more than 30 years. He was one of the founding members of Democratic Party and served as a Legislative Councillor for New Territories East between 2008 and 2012. But he was expelled in 2015 after urging pan-democrats to “pocket it first”, that is support the government’s proposal for political reform. He then set up “Third Side”, a centrist political party, in January 2015.

He is still smarting from the episode, “It was a political struggle. The most veteran members in the party did not think I had to be expelled, just some young members proposed it in favour of their political interest as they were afraid my words would influence how young voters see the party,” Wong says.

Before Wong entered politics, he has been a social worker, involved mostly in youth work and services. He believes the biggest problem in today’s society is the distrust between Beijing and Hong Kong citizens. Wong insists that if Hongkongers want Beijing to respect human rights and the rule of law in Hong Kong, they have to get Beijing to trust them.

“If we use violence, they won’t develop trust in us, unless we sit down and argue with reason,” he asserts.

For Wong communication seems to be the silver bullet for many problems, from distrust between Beijing and Hong Kong people to gaining support from young people. Wong believes most youngsters would agree that communication is the way forward for the democratic movement, but not all of them.

“When I was a student I was radical like them. I slept on the street in protest. Without using violence, we did strive for something. If we use violence today, it will end up in sacrifice, not success,” he says.

Despite the current stalemate in political reform, Wong has hopes for universal suffrage. “If we let Beijing understand what Hong Kong people do is for society’s good, I think there’s a chance,” he says.

The other candidates are Christine Fong Kwok-shan, Holden Chow Ho-ding, Edward Leung Tin-kei, Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu, Wilson Lau Chi-shing and Leung Sze-ho.

Edited by Kelly Wong

Lau Chi-shing – the self-proclaimed neutral and Leung Chun-ying supporter

February 26, 2016

By-election candidate says Leung Chun-ying deserves a second term as Chief Executive

By Rubie Fan

Company director Wilson Lau Chi-shing says he is the only candidate who lives in Eastern New Territories and can solve the problems that residents face.

Lau says his personal experience spurred him to join the by-election. When he travels between the Mainland and the New Territories, he sees problems like the MTR raising prices and experiencing frequent delays. He says other candidates can’t see these problems as clearly as he does because they don’t live in the area.

“I have been knocked down by parallel traders and their trollies and argued with them,” Lau says.

Lau says that he has an additional advantage—he is one of three independent candidates in the by-election. As someone who is neither pro-establishment nor a pan-democrat, Lau says he can work as a mediator if he gets elected to the Legislative Council.

“Both camps focus on tiny details and refuse to negotiate. That’s why they can never reach a consensus,” Lau says.

He says he wants to balance the views of both camps to serve Hong Kong.

Lau also stands out from the other candidates as an open supporter of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying. He says he backs Leung for re-election.

“Unlike Mr Chow (Holden Chow Ho-ding, the pro-establishment candidate) who keeps refusing to show his support for CY Leung, I would like Leung to serve for another term of office,” Lau says. “He really achieved something for Hong Kong. Some might criticize him for not following protocol. But he really did solve some problems instantly, like the housing problem, anchor babies in Hong Kong, and the milk powder craze,” he adds.

He says not everyone opposes Leung and that the opposition is exaggerated. He says some people echo his views that Leung has achieved something.

“The problem lies with the bureaucrats around him. They did not work for him earnestly,” he says.

Lau says Hong Kong’s problems could be solved much more easily if government officers do their best to help the chief executive.

The other candidates are Wong Sing-chi, Holden Chow Ho-ding, Leung Sze-ho, Christine Fong Kwok-shan, Leung Tin-kei and Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu.

The by-election will be held on Sunday February 28.

Edited by Tiff Chan

District Councillor Christine Fong hopes to strike lucky second time around

February 26, 2016

Christine Fong Kwok-shan fights LegCo by-election on ‘independent’ platform

By Stanley Lam

Her election flyers feature a picture of a teenaged Christine Fong Kwok-shan playing the role of the boy-deity Nezha, holding two golden rings and a fire-tipped spear. In Taoist folk tales, Nezha rides through the sky on “wind fire wheels” and defeats the Dragon King.

Christine Fong Kwok-shan campaigning in Sha Tin

But in real life, says the former child actor turned engineer and district councillor, her feet are placed firmly on the ground. And she is hoping her down-to-earth approach will win bring her success in Sunday’s New Territories East by-election.

Fong says her strategy of reaching out to people in their everyday life helped her to get elected to the Sai Kung district council in 2011 with a whopping 87 per cent of the vote. This time, she is also running on livelihood issues such as proposals to improve the railway network and enhance transport connections in the North District.

Standing as an independent, she explains her campaign slogan “third power” means “Not parroting, not blindly following what others do.”

Before Fong struck out on her own, she joined the Liberal Party in 2004. She says she was running a small business at the time and did not see anyone representing small and medium sized enterprises. “The development of small and medium enterprises in Hong Kong is very narrow, I wished to do something for them,” explains Fong.

However, she quit the party in 2010 after falling out with chairman James Tien Pei-chun. Fong says the party was very different to what she had expected. “They didn’t really have commitment to society, they were too opportunistic, treating it as a business,”she says.

As for the Mong Kok clashes, Fong believes it was a result of accumulated public anger. She says there is a huge divide between Hong Kong’s young people and the older generation. “Those who are aged in their sixties and seventies experienced hard times so they want stability and peace now. Although there is a generation gap between myself and teenagers, I can understand them and feel for them as I also stand in the front line,” she says.

Fong says she will communicate more with young people and that she is empathetic to their experience of being beaten by police in protests.

As for her chances in Sunday’s polls, Fong says she is confident she can get at many more of the votes than she received in the 2012 Legislative Council Election, when she got 24,594 votes.

The other candidates are Wong Sing-chi, Holden Chow Ho-ding, Leung Sze-ho, Wilson Lau Chi-shing, Leung Tin-kei and Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu.

Edited by Kelly Wong

Meet the voters of the New Territories East Legco By-election 2016

February 26, 2016

You’ve met the candidates, and we’ll have more on them soon. In the meantime, meet the voters who will be going to the polls this Sunday.

For more features, infographics and news on the Legislative Council by- election, stay tuned to this page and follow us on https://twitter.com/varsitycuhk.

Competition between pan-dems and localists gives DAB the edge in tight NT East race, says scholar

February 25, 2016

The war of words between supporters of Civic Party’s Alvin Yeung and Hong Kong Indigenous candidate Edward Leung may benefit DAB’s Holden Chow in by-election

By Megan Leung

As the New Territories East Legislative Council by-election approaches, Civic Party candidate Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu and Holden Chow Ho-ding, the candidate for the pro-establishment Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, are neck and neck in an opinion poll by the University of Hong Kong’s Public Opinion Program for WeMedia01 .

The program surveyed 500 people, including 130 New Territories East voters, on February 17 and 18. It found that overall, Yeung and Chow both had 14 per cent of respondents backing them. Edward Leung Tin-kei, a candidate from the rising localist group Hong Kong Indigenous, had 8 per cent. Among the New Territories East voters, Yeung had 15 per cent of respondents supporting him, Chow had 15 per cent and Leung had 9 per cent.

Ma Ngok, Head of Department of Government and Public Administration at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, says Chow is more likely to do well in the election. He explains that unless the voter turnout rate was unusually high, just the votes from the pro-establishment camp alone would already be enough for Chow to win.

Pro-democracy voters, on the other hand, have to choose between Yeung and Leung. Some of Yeung’s supporters urge voters to forego Leung in order to send Yeung into Legco, saying that this is the only way to prevent Chow from winning.

The debate became more heated after the founder of the influential satirical youth magazine and website 100Most, Lam Yat-hei urged voters to vote for whom they prefer instead of “voting with tears”, which means voting strategically as suggested by the pan-democratic camp. Strategic voting is one way to prevent splitting votes between candidates with a similar political stance, because split votes may end up with a strong rival winning.

“Whenever there are more than two candidates in the running, you have to consider whether you will choose a lesser evil, or cast your vote to prevent the candidate you least prefer to win the election,” says Ma.

He says the concept of “foregoing Yeung and keeping Leung” does not make sense since it is unlikely that the localist group would have more votes than the pan-democrats.

“There is no reason to give up a strong candidate in order to save the weak one,” says Ma.

He adds that Leung is an “unknown” to many people, and that although Leung takes a more radical approach in dealing with the government than traditional pan-democrats, it does not mean this will work. Many supporters of moderate pan-democrats may not buy this idea, Ma says.

Organization and cohesion are essential for a campaign, but Ma says it has always been difficult for the pro-democracy camp to achieve this. Traditional pan-democrats and radical localists cannot reach a consensus despite having the same end goal of true democracy in Hong Kong. This makes it hard for either Yeung or Leung to win the election, Ma says.

The other candidates in the by-election are Lau Chi-shing, Wong Sing-chi, Albert Leung Sze-ho, Christine Fong Kwok-shan.

The New Territories East Legislative Council by-election will be held on Sunday.

Edited By Julian Ng

Meet the Candidates of the New Territories East Legco By-election 2016

February 22, 2016

The election is coming up this Sunday, so take a look at the seven candidates and find out what they stand for.

For more features, infographics and news on the Legislative Council by-election, stay tuned to this page and follow us on https://twitter.com/varsitycuhk.

Development of the New Territories East Legislative Council By-election

February 21, 2016

Ronny Tong Ka-wah resigned from the Legislative Council, which led to this election. Varsity explains what led up to this, and what comes after.

For more features, infographics and news on the Legislative Council by-election, stay tuned to this page and follow us on https://twitter.com/varsitycuhk.

Introduction and demographics of New Territories East By-election

February 21, 2016

The New Territories East Legislative Council By-election is just a week away. Here are the facts you need to know about this election!

For more features, infographics and news on the Legislative Council by- election, stay tuned to this page and follow us on https://twitter.com/varsitycuhk.

Varsity’s Coverage of the New Territories East By-Election 2016

February 19, 2016

Features and infographics are coming soon! Like our Facebook page and follow @varsitycuhk on Twitter