About a third of incumbent local deputies of the National People's Congress risk losing their seats in the final round of voting, with suggestions that electors want to see a younger generation coming through. There are 31 incumbent deputies seeking another term. All made it through the pre-election stage yesterday. However, 11 of them ranked lower than the crucial 36th position, suggesting they may miss out in next week's election. Only 36 of the 54 candidates who survived the first round will be voted in. They are Joseph Lee Chung-tak, Lo Chung-hing, Philip Wong Yu-hong, Victor Sit Fung-shuen, Kan Fook-yee, Priscilla Lau Pui-king, Lee Chark-tim, Lo Suk-ching, Wong Po-yan, Lee Lin-sang and Ngai Shiu-kit. Former legislator Ngai Shiu-kit, 78, and former Airport Authority chairman Wong Po-yan, 79, are among the oldest. Defeated Democrat candidate James To Kun-sun said he had heard some voters expressing the desire to see younger blood. Quoting a Chinese saying which means each new generation replaces the previous one, Lee Cho-chak, spokesman for the committee in charge of the election, said: 'As in the Changjiang River, the waves behind drive on those before.' However, he argued that yesterday's results should not be regarded as an indicator of how the voting will go next week. Among the 54 candidates elected yesterday, 13 are aged over 65 and seven are over 70. Incumbent NPC local deputy Chan Wing-kee, who is not seeking another term, said age was unimportant. 'The most important element is whether the candidates are capable. There should not be a problem even if they are a bit older,' he said. Incumbent NPC local deputy Maria Tam Wai-chu yesterday grabbed the highest number of votes with 687. Mr Ngai was the incumbent with the least votes, at 299. Fang Jin-sheng, younger brother of former chief secretary for administration Anson Chan Fang On-sang, scraped through in 36th position, with 238 votes. Engineer Hung Yuen-biu, 73, received the least number of votes of all the candidates, with seven. Graphic: LOSE30GET
