HONG Kong dissident Lau Shan-ching has vowed to fight local leftists at the ballot box in the 1995 polls.
But Mr Lau, who served a 10-year jail term in China for counter-revolutionary activities, may have difficulty in raising the funds for his campaign, having had no job since his release in December 1991.
And his hope of standing in the direct elections for the Legislative Council may also be thwarted by law.
Mr Lau said left-wing forces in the territory were already too strong and he felt obliged to try to prevent them gaining further ground.
''The pro-China forces already control too many seats . . . they are not the representatives of Hong Kong people but the mouthpiece of Beijing. They are anti-democratic and I cannot let them be elected [unchallenged],'' he said.
It is believed Mr Lau will fight Chan Yuen-han, of the Democratic Alliance for Betterment of Hong Kong in Kowloon Central, a largely working class area.
He said he would stand as an independent: ''Even the United Democrats are not democratic enough.'' Meanwhile, Mr Lau admitted his career prospects were bleak.
