Democrats unveil the art of change
While observers generally believe that the lack of election issues means the focus in this year's Legislative Council poll is on image rather than platform, the Democratic Party yesterday announced its detailed policy plan: it focused on inflation, youth and the elderly. Democrat chief election strategist Law Chi-kwong admitted that with constitutional reform no longer a burning issue, the party was shifting its attention to other areas such as arts and culture policy. 'But as the Democratic Party, of course, we have to pledge support for universal suffrage by 2012.'
Calmer waters reported in New Territories
The New Territories political battleground has looked much calmer since Heung Yee Kuk chairman Lau Wong-fat and vice-chairman Daniel Lam Wai-keung settled their candidacies in the kuk and district council functional constituencies respectively. The onslaughts by kuk members on the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong have ceased. Tang Sing-wah, a veteran consultant of the kuk who lambasted the DAB for 'excreting over New Territories people's heads' three weeks ago, said yesterday he would canvass for the New Territories West ticket led by DAB chairman Tam Yiu-chung and kuk vice-chairman Cheung Hok-ming. Mr Tang, along with Mr Lau and some other rural community leaders, were in fact among those who had nominated the DAB team. Asked about the apparent contradiction, he explained: 'I wasn't referring to the whole DAB at the kuk meeting, but I was discontented with [DAB vice-chairman] Ip Kwok-him.'
Tanya Chan runs into long arms of the law
Those who worry about Hong Kong's security during the Olympics should feel safe after learning about the efficiency of Hong Kong's Finest. When Hong Kong Island candidate Tanya Chan's supporters laid a large poster with the words 'missing person' above Ms Chan's picture on the piazza of Times Square in Causeway Bay on Friday, about three hours ahead of the Games' opening ceremony, three policemen quickly arrived to check out the case. They concluded, as readers might imagine, that it was a publicity gimmick by the actress-politician.