Let the games begin with league back in Legco
It's been rather peaceful in the Legislative Council chamber for the past four months, since the League of Social Democrats' rowdy trio joined two Civic Party lawmakers in resigning to spark Sunday's by-elections. But things got back to normal with a bang yesterday as Leung Kwok-hung, Albert Chan Wai-yip and Wong Yuk-man returned to be sworn in after their predictable victories in the barely contested polls. Demonstrating his long-held belief that parliamentary rules are there to be broken, Leung added some sloganeering to his oath of office, demanding universal suffrage and the end of Communist Party rule on the mainland. Fearing the spectacle might be too much for the earnest government supporters of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, Chan dared them to stage a repeat of their walkout in January ahead of resignation speeches by the five. This they did, but unfortunately it left too few members present for the meeting to continue - so the DAB's Starry Lee Wai-king had to return and sit through all the fun. 'The people can hold their heads up after the de facto referendum,' shouted Wong, referring to his group's campaign to make the by-elections a 'referendum' on democracy. Pro-government unionist Wong Kwok-hing wasn't impressed. 'What a show,' he said afterwards. 'The legislature has become a place for this rubbish.'
A stitch-up on democracy? Surely not?
Officials may be proud of their latest propaganda - two video clips in which they call on the public to trust Beijing and wait for universal suffrage to come as promised rather than bringing reform to a standstill. Eagle-eyed viewers, though, are wondering if they contain a subtle message. In the second clip, where a student asks her mother to make her a graduation-day dress, the dress presented her on the day is not the one she ordered. Too late to make any alteration, of course. What are we to read into that?
They know how not to get the vote out
Following the record-low turnout in Sunday's by-elections, government officials and Beijing loyalists may claim their boycott of the polls a success. But vote counts from individual polling stations released on Tuesday show rural patriarchs mounted the best 'anti' campaign. Two rural districts, Yuen Long and Islands, had the lowest turnout of the city's 18 districts - at 12.4 per cent and 13.37 per cent respectively of their registered voters. In contrast, 21.27 per cent of Sham Shui Po electors and 20.85 per cent of Yau Tsim Mong electors - both in the hotly contested Kowloon West constituency - cast valid votes.
