The rift in the fractious pan-democratic camp is poised to deepen after a war of words between the bloc's would-be candidates for chief executive in a televised debate yesterday.
Democratic Party chairman Albert Ho Chun-yan said there were 'fundamental differences' between his vision of democracy and that of Frederick Fung Kin-kee - lawmaker for the Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood - after Fung denounced him for attacking developers.
Protests from the floor made the 90-minute debate more heated. Dozens of supporters of the radical League of Social Democrats and People's Power booed the candidates throughout the event. Some dressed as clowns to mock Ho and Fung for participating in an election they have no hope of winning, while others threw paper planes on to the stage.
It was their second televised debate ahead of today's primary vote to choose who will run for the city's top job against the two establishment candidates, ex-chief secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen and former Executive Council convenor Leung Chun-ying. The 1,200-member Election Committee, on which pan-democrats have 205 votes, will choose the next chief executive on March 25.
'Initially I thought we shared the same ideas on challenging the small-circle election and had only minor differences on how to achieve our goals,' Ho said. 'However, after these debates, I've found there are fundamental differences.'
Ho said he was shocked to hear that Fung disagreed with his plan to declare war against the dominance of the developers and the deepening wealth gap in Hong Kong.
In their previous debate on Tuesday, Fung attacked Ho for merely sloganeering without proposing any policy. He said he was also concerned Ho's slogans would deepen social conflicts and intensify hatred against the rich.