More moderates sign up to run for Legislative Council

Two new candidates mean all directly elected constituencies will be contested next month

Competition has emerged for seats in all 10 directly elected constituencies in Hong Kong’s first legislative poll after Beijing’s electoral overhaul, with two more moderate candidates signing up for next month’s race before the close of nominations today.

The latest candidate to throw his hat into the ring for the Legislative Council election is former Democratic Party member Nelson Wong Sing-chi, an exlawmaker eyeing a seat in the New Territories North East geographical constituency.

Casper Wong Chun-long, of the centrist Third Side party, also handed in his nomination to run in New Territories North West yesterday. His participation effectively means none of the 20 seats in the 10 geographical constituencies will be returned uncontested.

The mainstream opposition is boycotting the December 19 poll, saying the new electoral model following Beijing’s shake-up stifles dissident voices.

As part of Beijing’s overhaul to ensure “patriots” govern Hong Kong, hopefuls eyeing geographical constituencies must secure at least 10 nominations from the Election Committee – a powerful body packed with pro-establishment figures.

Nelson Wong said he decided to run after the Democratic Party and Association of Democracy and People’s Livelihood (ADPL) opted not to field any candidates.

“If everyone gives in, or withdraws, there will not be any diversified voices in the legislature and it will be very difficult for us to restart our democratic cause,” he said.

Wong also revealed that Beijing’s liaison office in the city had approached him twice about his intention to run. He said he had then approached Lo Man-tuen, a pro-establishment heavyweight, for nomination. Lo agreed, and sent more nominations to him.

In 2015, the Democratic Party expelled Wong over his plan to petition lawmakers to conditionally accept a Beijing-decreed political reform proposal, which would effectively allow the Election Committee to vet candidates. The following year, he quit Third Side, which he had co-founded.

Wong said he was a democrat and would call for an amnesty for all opposition activists in jail.

Other moderates who signed up for the election include ex-lawmaker Frederick Fung Kin-kee, who yesterday said he hoped to

The central government has made it clear that Hong Kong is a pluralistic society

HENRY TANG YING-YEN, CHINESE PEOPLE’S POLITICAL CONSULTATIVE CONFERENCE

“widen a narrow alley” through his participation in Legco.

The race in the functional constituencies, meanwhile, has been unusually heated this year compared with previous elections, when some sectors controlled by the pro-establishment bloc remained uncontested. All but one of the 30 seats were contested as of yesterday. Forty-nine hopefuls will run for the 40 Election Committee seats.

The Post earlier reported that Beijing had been working behind the scenes to ensure pro-establishment candidates did not win without a contest. Some veteran lawmakers who were previously returned uncontested said they were told to “find someone” to run against this time.

But some politicians found the line-up embarrassing. In one of the commercial sectors, incumbent lawmaker Jeffrey Lam Kinfung, of the Business and Professionals Alliance (BPA), is running against Edmund Yew Yat-ming, senior vice-president of Lai Fung Holdings under the Lai Sun Group. BPA executive committee chairman Peter Lam Kinngok leads the group.

Meanwhile, Henry Tang Yingyen, a standing committee member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, said he was pleased to learn a number of people from different backgrounds were running.

“There are voices in the community suggesting [Beijing] is trying to make the election onedimensional, but the central government has made it clear that Hong Kong is a pluralistic society and therefore it wants to have a plurality of voices in the legislature,” he said.

Seven more people signed up to run yesterday, bringing the total to 146 since nominations opened almost two weeks ago.