Eddie Chu, everything a seasoned politician is not
Alice Wu says the soft-spoken, long-time activist is already proving a political force to reckon with, having displayed rare wisdom in reaching out across party lines
As if we hadn’t seen enough people picking their jaws off the floor after the Legislative Council election results this month, lawmaker-elect and “king of votes” Eddie Chu Hoi-dick is now making sure there won’t be any more instances of political lockjaw.
Even before assuming office, Chu has already managed to make the government flinch, and the chief executive cry
For someone who has been sidelined, Chu sideswiped this city’s politics not simply by winning, but by doing so with an incredible number of votes. And he did it without any veteran politician propping him up by being second on his list, or any party backing. Chu received more than twice the number of votes of Junius Ho Kwan-yiu, who grabbed the last seat in their constituency.
Even before assuming office, Chu has already managed to make the government flinch, and the chief executive cry. And that’s not all. While the pan-democrats are still trying to figure out how to work alongside the localists, Chu has got them together under his Wang Chau housing project cause.
Chu has also expressed willingness to work with some pro-establishment lawmakers. That is something veteran legislators have not been able to do for years.
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Chu rode the waves of public distrust and frustration with traditional political institutions and the old way of politicking, including the way business is conducted in the legislature.
Amid rising public passions and distrust of traditional politicians, people find Chu to be everything a traditional “seasoned politician” is not. He displays no ego and is soft-spoken almost to a fault. Chu seems miscast for political high drama, but that’s exactly what he has managed to stage.