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Letters | No glory in violent Hong Kong protests, and no future for city if the cycle can’t be stopped
- The so-called fair, open and transparent district council elections did not advance freedoms. They only gave the violent mob a mandate to suppress the freedoms of others
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Why you can trust SCMP
I refer to the letter from Professor C.K. Woo of the Education University of Hong Kong (“Why democracy matters in Hong Kong: eight lessons from the district council elections”, December 2).
I strongly dispute his assertion that a “fair and open election” was held on November 24. Nothing could be further from the truth. Although there was a temporary lull in violence just before the elections, the district offices of many pro-establishment district councillors and candidates were vandalised in the run-up to the elections – with some set on fire several times.
Many candidates were harassed so intensely that they could not go out to canvass votes. Some had to call in the police for protection, after having been harangued and practically incarcerated in their offices for hours.
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Many volunteers and supporters were so cowed by the “black terror” that they dared not help in canvassing or venture out to vote.
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There were serious flaws in the polling arrangements. The elderly and those with disabilities had to wait for hours in the sun before they could vote. Some polling stations made special arrangements for them. Some did not. That was very unfair to many elderly people who dropped out after queuing for hours.
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