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Carrie Chan

DAB legislator Choy So-yuk is facing a tough battle to keep her seat on the Eastern District Council. Veteran activist 'Long Hair' Leung Kwok-hung is challenging her in the Kam Ping constituency in the November 23 elections.

Ms Choy is facing an intensifying campaign by Mr Leung of the April 5th Action Group, who has vowed to 'kick out' the pro-government camp. The race is one of the highlights of the district's 37 constituency battles.

Mr Leung, a 47-year-old freelance writer and seasoned protester, said he would 'put words into action'. Among his priorities is improving the  sewage system.

'Everyone knows my track record of demonstrations and petitions launched to help residents across districts,' he said.

He said Ms Choy and the Democratic Alliance for Betterment of Hong Kong were incapable of reflecting public opinion on political issues such as the Article 23 legislation because of their pro-government stand.

'They have the word 'democratic' and 'for betterment of Hong Kong' in the name. But their actions demonstrate the opposite,' Mr Leung said.

Independent candidate Wong Shing-kwong,  a 49-year-old securities consultant, said he felt compelled to challenge Ms Choy, whose accomplishments, he said, were 'unnoticeable'.

'Ms Choy is known as an environmental protection activist, but I'm afraid to say that Kam Ping is very dirty. This is very ironic,' he said.

'The residents also like my friendly personality a lot. As a believer in people power, I would encourage the residents to battle for democracy just like Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi and black leader Martin Luther King did.'

Dismissing the threat from the pro-democracy camp, Ms Choy, 53, said her record of achievements would guarantee her victory.

'Residents would know how much I have done in the past four years, ranging from removing illegal structures, helping residents to establish flat owners' incorporations in residential buildings, setting up a hotline at my office to receive complaints from local residents and so on,' she said.

She said the district's hygiene problem was hard to tackle given the many privately owned streets.

EASTERN: now and then

2003 district council election

Population: 600,339

Electors: 292,356

Constituencies: 37

Candidates: 73 (nine races were uncontested)

1999 district council election

Electors: 296,080

Constituencies: 37

Candidates: 74

Turnout: 32.87 per cent (eight races were uncontested)



'Long Hair' takes on DAB stalwart in Eastern