Szeto Wah was last night re-elected chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China for the 21st time. But unlike past elections, he did not attend the annual meeting - he is in hospital fighting late-stage lung cancer, which has spread to his bones.
Szeto's absence was inevitable, colleagues said, because chemotherapy and medication have weakened his immunity, increasing the risk of infection.
In a statement released after his re-election, the veteran activist said: 'I have no regret for all the work I have done for the alliance.'
The political group was founded to promote democracy and rehabilitation of the victims of the Tiananmen military crackdown in June 1989. But it was branded subversive by Beijing.
Alliance member and Democratic Party chairman Albert Ho Chun-yan revealed the extent of Szeto's deteriorating health. 'Cancer cells have invaded his bones, he is suffering great pain every day,' he said.
Szeto's condition has been fluctuating amid frequent treatment, Ho said, but as the alliance's chairmanship post was largely ceremonial, it imposed little burden on him. Other core members of the group have taken on his responsibilities.
