ZCZC
BFF-15
HONGKONG-CHINA-POLITICS-UNREST
Abuse and acrimony as crisis-hit Hong Kong holds district polls
HONG KONG, Nov 22, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Abuse, threats, protests and police
cordons: first-time candidate Kwan Siu Lun says campaigning for this
weekend’s district elections in Hong Kong has been a dangerous business in
the white heat of the city’s political crisis.
Polling stations are due to open across Hong Kong on Sunday morning as the
semi-autonomous city of 7.5 million votes for district councillors, in a
ballot seen as a gauge of the popularity of Chief Executive Carrie Lam and
the pro-Beijing government.
In normal times, district elections are tame, hyper-local affairs
dominated by candidates allied to the China-backed government with a remit
over rubbish collections and planning decisions.
But with protests coursing through the city, pro-democracy candidates are
hoping for a dramatic swing in their favour.
The protest movement needs a big turnout — it was 47 percent the last
time around in 2015 — to give the unpopular government a bloody nose at the
ballot box.
The signs point in their favour with 4.1 million Hong Kongers registering
to vote — nearly 400,000 more than in 2015.
There are no disruptive actions planned so far for Sunday, while a “HOW TO
CAST A VOTE” airdrop is urging young voters to turn up early, bring their ID
and “avoid wearing black shirts and masks” or accidentally spoiling ballots.
In a city beset by violence, candidate Kwan says he has tried to tip-toe
around the conflicting political opinions.
“I try to focus on local community issues,” says the 38-year-old architect
running as an independent on the pro-democracy side in his working-class
constituency of Hung Hom.
“But of course some voters ask what my political views are… some people
have sworn at me and thrown my leaflets to the ground.”
The poll to choose 452 councillors across 18 districts is the closest
voters in Hong Kong get to direct representation.
By contrast, members of the city’s legislature are elected by a
combination of popular vote and industry groups stacked with Beijing
loyalists, while the city’s chief executive is chosen by a similarly pro-
establishment committee.
This year it is “a kind of referendum” on the Hong Kong government’s
handling “of the riots over the extradition (bill), democracy and the
conflicts between the people and the police”, says political analyst Dixon
Sing.
– ‘Deeply touched’ –
The political unrest of recent months has overshadowed what would normally
be a calm campaign.
A pro-democracy candidate had his ear bitten off, while 17 other
candidates of all stripes — some seeking re-election — have been arrested
over protest-related activities.
Meanwhile, election authorities banned democracy activist Joshua Wong from
running in the district poll over his political views espousing “self-
determination” for the Chinese-ruled city.
Kwan says he did not plan to run. Then protests unfurled on June 9 against
an extradition bill to China. They have not stopped since.
“I never thought about running before… I have a day job and I have a
new-born baby,” he told AFP, the pavement dug up around him by protesters
seeking projectiles to hurl at police.
But “I felt deeply touched” by the protest movement, he said, explaining
he sees district power as a way to help young people.
The challenges of campaigning during a political crisis cuts across
colours.
Michelle Tang, an independent candidate affiliated with the pro-
establishment camp, is seeking re-election in her constituency of Tsim Sha
Tsui East.
The now-trashed Hong Kong Polytechnic University campus stands in her
district, scene of an ongoing siege of pro-democracy protesters by police.
“Some shops have refused to put up my poster even though the owners
privately support me” she said, explaining they are worried about provoking
the protesters.
In the hurly-burly of a political crisis it is also hard to predict who is
likely to triumph in Sunday’s poll.
But there is a strategic imperative for a protest movement that has
brought millions onto the street to also flood the polling booths.
Under the city’s convoluted China-scripted electoral system, seats on the
district council could translate into 117 votes in the Election Committee —
the mechanism by which a Chief Executive is chosen.
A big win at grassroots level in the city’s most free vote could help
mobilise the pro-democracy bloc for next year’s parliamentary elections, says
analyst Sing.
Back on the city’s febrile streets, candidates have the choice of fending
off barrages of abuse or running muted campaigns.
“Some pro-establishment voters come to me and call me a ‘cockroach’, or a
‘rioter’,” says Isaac Ho, a pro-democracy candidate running for the first
time in a government-allied stronghold in Kowloon.
“I just answer with a smile,” he says.
BSS/AFP/BZC/1225HRS