bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

SCMP Reporter

MAJOR political factions in Sha Tin are confident they can get an even share of the 31 seats up for grabs in the district board election.

  Mak Lam-wing, the Liberal Party spokesman on election, said: 'Sha Tin will be a district divided among four major political factions - the Liberal Party, the United Democrats, Meeting Point and the Civil Force - and independents.'   He said the Liberal Party could secure eight or nine seats.

  But the United Democrat and Meeting Point candidate, Chow Wai-tung, said they could have the edge in Sha Tin.

  'Waving a democratic party flag should be more appealing to the middle class, which makes up a major proportion of the population here,' said Mr Chow, an incumbent member.

  He said it was possible for his party to win more than 10 seats.

  Civil Force, a political group representing members without party background and members with regional influence (such as those from rural committees), is a conservative power.

  Civil Force convenor, incumbent district board member and Regional Councillor Lau Kong-wah, said Sha Tin, where 60 per cent of candidates were independents, was not a place for political parties to fight.

  'Since the parties have detached themselves from the Sha Tin residents, playing up the party image will not be helpful for a candidate to win popularity,' he said. 'Instead, the quality of the individual will be the major index to voters.'   Mr Lau said many of the 13 Civil Force candidates had served the district for considerable time. He was confident their reputations would guarantee them seven or eight seats.

  The pro-China Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong, with only three candidates registered, has a relatively low profile in the district. Its office there only opened in June.



Even faction split in Sha Tin