Protests show call for Hong Kong unity is a distant dream

While unity had been a key word during the campaigns of all three chief executive candidates, protests as divisive as ever outside the voting station suggest achieving it will be harder said than done.

The number of pro-democracy protesters was down significantly on Sunday – and they resorted to less radical action – compared with the 2,000 who showed up at the last chief executive election in 2012 and prompted police to use pepper spray.

But this election saw the rise of a whole new breed of protesters. About 1,200 pro-Beijing supporters, by the Post’s estimation, many clad in red, who drowned out their opponents while voicing support for the government.

As the votes were cast and counted in the Convention and Exhibition Centre’s voting station in Wan Chai, they gathered in the drizzle outside at Revenue Tower and the Shun On Centre, designated protest zones, to wave national flags, chant slogans and sing in praise of the motherland.

When they were not enjoying a band invited to perform in matching red, they mingled and chatted in Putonghua and various dialects, displaying banners bearing the names of their home cities, such as Guangzhou, Xiamen and Shanwei.

Some protesters the Post spoke to boasted of caring little for the candidates.