Parties scrambling for Island support

The Civic Party's Tanya Chan reached the height of her political career so far in the last election when she topped the polls in the Hong Kong Island constituency of the Legislative Council election with 82,600 votes, or 26 per cent of the ballot, cast in the constituency.

It's a feat which saw her become a 'double councillor', adding to the district council seat she won just one year previously.

Chan said the victory in September 2008 was mainly because Audrey Eu Yuet-mee, the Civic Party's then leader and an incumbent lawmaker, was placed second on the party's electoral list, behind Chan - a strategy aimed at propelling the rookie politician into the legislature. The ploy worked, with both winning a place in Legco.

'She is very good in attracting votes, and very hard-working as well. Voters also accepted that even though Eu was second on the list, they would still cast their ballot for the Civic Party,' Chan said.

Four years on, Eu has decamped to New Territories West in an attempt to work the same magic on Kwok Ka-ki. Meanwhile, Chan is left to emulate what Eu did in 2008 by playing second fiddle to the Civic Party's chairman Kenneth Chan Ka-lok.

'It will be a very hard battle ... I hope voters can see we are fielding the best candidates possible citywide. And more importantly, Kenneth and I are both in our 40s - we are not very young, but it shows our sincerity [in giving younger] politicians a chance,' Chan emphasised.

Chan had earlier dubbed herself 'Chan Seven', referring to her hopes of clinching Hong Kong Island's seventh and final seat in a race based on proportional representation.