Cyd Ho pulls out of HK Island by-election
The pan-democrats' plan to field a unity candidate in December's Legislative Council by-election was in turmoil last night after Cyd Ho Sau-lan said she was quitting the race to maximise the camp's chances of winning the Hong Kong Island seat.
Her decision came as rumours grew that former chief secretary Anson Chan Fang On-sang or other figures seen as capable of securing middle-class voters' support were considering running on behalf of the democratic camp. But Mrs Chan said on RTHK yesterday: 'I have at this point in time, no great interest in participating in the by-election.'
Ms Ho told the South China Morning Post she had decided to pull out because she had been unable to unite pan-democrats behind her in order to achieve victory.
'This is a fight people in Hong Kong cannot afford to lose. Since I believe there is somebody who is more able than me to unite the pan-democrats, I will withdraw and make it easier for them to make a decision and run,' Ms Ho said.
She urged her supporters to back the candidate chosen under a system for picking a pan-democratic candidate which she helped set up.
'Personal glory is nothing compared to the general interest of Hong Kong. What I truly wish to see is that the pan-democrats can successfully unite and prevent Regina Ip [Lau Suk-yee] from grabbing the seat - which is a worst case [scenario] for the people,' Ms Ho said. In a statement, she pledged that she would back the camp's final choice.
'Even though I am not in any public office, I will continue to fight for democracy and human rights in Hong Kong. I will stand with the people.' As the first person to announce her intention to run, Ms Ho had received backing from the Civic Party and The Frontier.
Observers believe one reason behind her withdrawal is intensified attacks from rivals among the pan-democrats, who criticised her for recent remarks which embarrassed them. Ms Ho had suggested the public should boycott payment of government rates to press the case for universal suffrage. She has also criticised RTHK for not hosting debates about the government's green paper on constitutional reform.
Ivan Choy Chi-keung, a political analyst at Chinese University, said a recent drop in Ms Ho's popularity and the lack of support from her allies had dealt a fatal blow to her chances in the election.
The Democratic Party's Lee Wing-tat was shocked to hear she was pulling out, and said it had disrupted the camp's strategy. 'Public sentiment will definitely be affected with such a sudden withdrawal.'
The by-election was called following the death of Ma Lik, chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong.
