Popular mainland writer Li Chengpeng, who had earlier announced that he would run for a seat in his local legislature as an independent candidate, said yesterday that official pressure had not suppressed his ideals.
Members of legislative bodies on the mainland are normally nominated by local party organs, and independent candidates are rare.
Li's enthusiasm was dampened last month when a National People's Congress official said there was 'no legal basis' for the term independent candidates.
It was widely seen as a gesture to put off more than 100 people across the mainland who had declared their candidacies online.
'Many people asked me why I wanted to run for a seat,' Li, 43, told a packed room of fans at the Hong Kong Book Fair. 'I said it's like chasing girls ... that's my right, you don't need a reason.'
'[But] where I'm from, 'independence' is a sensitive word'. Asked whether he would give up his ideals, he said, 'I think ideals are like luminous pearls: in bright places they have no brightness, but in the dark, they flourish'. The crowd applauded.
The emergence of high-profile independent candidates - petitioners, activists, authors, professors and businessmen - has apparently unnerved the mainland government. Many such candidates have reportedly been harassed or detained by authorities.
