Letters | Has Hong Kong changed for the worse? Elderly voters in district council elections might think so

On November 24, I went to a polling station in Diamond Hill to cast my vote in the district council elections. I believe all Hongkongers should exercise this responsibility and voice their opinions.

Undaunted by the long queue, I waited for my turn and it indeed took me one full hour to reach the front of the line, where helpers called out the initial letter of identity cards before voters went forward to have their identities verified.

It seemed as though the line for ID cards beginning with the letters A through D was rather short, if not empty. People with ID numbers cards preceded by those letters tend to be older.

A few elderly persons with walking sticks and one disabled person in a wheelchair spoke to the volunteers at the polling station. They were told to go to the very end of the line, in the sun, to queue up with the rest of the voters.

When some elderly people at the front of the line went inside after the initial letter on their ID card was called, a middle-aged man came forward to question the fairness of the process and took a photo of the volunteer, threatening to complain that they had given priority to the elderly who, as a result, did not have to line up.

I do not think many people in their 70s and 80s can physically cope with standing and waiting for an hour. If they are asked to line up like the other voters, you are indeed requesting for many of them to go home. They are, however, the residents of Hong Kong most in need of help from district councillors. They are now being denied their right to voice their opinions as to who can help them.