Forecasting a change: 'umbrella soldiers' challenge old guard in Hong Kong's district council elections
Activists inspired by Occupy will be fighting Democrats in some key seats
More than 40 activists who took part in the Occupy movement are running in the district council elections.
Although they may not pose a serious threat to the pro-establishment camp, they argue that their challenge, staged in middle-class as well as low-income neighbourhoods, will spread the same "bottom-up" community planning spirit that inspired them during last year's pro-democracy protests, also known as the Umbrella Movement.
But a few of these "umbrella soldiers" are giving the Democratic Party a headache as they clash with its candidates in the same constituencies.
A tally by the Post reveals that 42 of the 935 candidates have either declared they come from new groups that emerged from Occupy or were politically awakened by the 79-day sit-ins.
Quite a few of them are professionals such as doctors, accountants, IT professionals and financiers, while others include the owner of an adventure-sports business, two chefs and a university student.
