SAR govt, EAC urged to protect election fairness|Hong Kong|chinadaily.com.cn

Many candidates express fear for their safety even their lives after a spate of violent attacks

About 180 Hong Kong pro-establishment candidates held a silent protest on Thursday, marching to urge the special administrative region government and election authority to take effective measures to guarantee the fairness of the upcoming District Council elections.

The cross-party march came as disruptions and violence targeting pro-establishment candidates have become rampant in recent electioneering activities. On Wednesday, lawmaker Junius Ho Kwan-yiu was stabbed by a knife-wielding man while campaigning.

About 70 offices of members of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong – the city’s largest political party in the Legislative Council – have been vandalized a total of over 100 times recently by radicals, according to DAB Chairperson Starry Lee Wai-king. The radicals have even set fire to some offices, she said.

The worried candidates have filed complaints on the harassment and damages with the Electoral Affairs Commission, the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau, and Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, Lee said. So far, however, the DAB has not seen any effective measures to stem the violence and protect the candidates and voters, she said.

Also attending the march were candidates from the Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions – the city’s largest labor union – and the New People’s Party.

Vandalism to candidates’ offices has inconvenienced residents who couldn’t reach and seek help from the candidates, said Regina Ip Lau suk-yee, founder and chairperson of the New People’s Party. Residents are also concerned about their safety on polling day, Nov 24, when they will cast their votes, Ip said.

Also joining the march was legislator Michael Tien Puk-sun, who said the competition among candidates should drive them to improve city services and eventually benefit local residents. However, the use of violence against competitors undermined the diversity of Hong Kong’s electoral culture and will have a long-term negative impact on the electoral system in Hong Kong, he said.

Calls for responsibility

The march started at the headquarters of the Hong Kong government in Admiralty and proceeded to the Harbour Centre in Wan Chai, where the Electoral Affairs Commission is located.

Speaking after the march, lawmaker Chan Hak-kan complained about what he called the EAC’s irresponsible attitude. After receiving Chan’s complaints, the EAC only transferred the cases to the Hong Kong Police Force, Chan said.

Chan said what has been reported in the complaints were not just individual cases but an ongoing social phenomenon that is undermining the fairness of the election. The commission’s lack of responsibility led him to doubt its capability to hold an election, he added.

Meanwhile, the violence has also resulted in unfair competition. Kwai Tsing District Councilor Alice Mak Mei-kuen said her election advertisements have been repeatedly removed and damaged. But she could not replace them due to the limits set on election expenses. Each candidate cannot spend more than HK$68,800 ($8,800) on their campaign, according to the District Councils Ordinance.

“Some of my supporters even asked me why I didn’t run this year after I was nominated,” said Mak, a candidate from the FTU. “I’m not worried about the result – I’m calling for a level playing field.”

Judy Chan Ka-pui, a member of the Southern District Council for South Horizons West, said she has had to be very cautious when canvassing votes. She said she has to stand against the wall to avoid being attacked from behind. Still, Chan has been occasionally surrounded by opposition camp supporters who insulted her with vulgar language, she said.

Junius Ho case ‘black terror’

The participants also expressed their fury at the savage attack on lawmaker Ho, and expressed their sympathy for him. FTU President Stanley Ng Chau-pei said he didn’t expect this election to take place in the grip of a “black terror”, which has threatened election candidates’ safety and their lives.

“I appeal to all the pro-establishment camp candidates to gear up for the election and don’t hold back,” he said.

The DAB’s Lee said she was outraged by the incident and expressed her sympathy for Ho. She said that the incident has made all of the party’s candidates worried about their safety in this election.

mollychen@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 11/08/2019 page4)