Homeless Hong Kong elector sees voting as a futile exercise
Ah Sun, who listed a park as his home, insists that casting his ballot won't change society
To someone who has slept rough and called a playground his home for nine years, the thought of electing a leader for his community seems unlikely to make a difference to his hard life.
That's why 58-year-old Ah Sun has no intention of casting his ballot in this November's district council elections, despite going to the trouble of registering as a voter, citing a playground in Sham Shui Po as his address.
"Casting a vote would definitely not change society," he laments, accusing district councillors of failing to improve the city and the livelihood of its people. "Registering to vote also seems to be meaningless to me … though I do enjoy such a right as a permanent Hong Kong resident."
Ah Sun says his visitors over the years have been social workers, not politicians. The latter, he says, spend too much time attacking opponents and giving out freebies to woo would-be voters, an act he compares to buying people's hearts. "Giving free food out of your conscience is not wrong … but have you ever tried to understand who these people who receive your treats are?"
READ MORE: How city's homeless are able to register to vote citing playgrounds and public spaces as home
He describes politicians across the spectrum as "rubbish". While he has more sympathy for the pan-democratic camp, he is upset by some of their actions, such as filibustering to block or delay government initiatives in the legislature.
Unlike many street sleepers, Ah Sun is not a single man but has a big family to feed on the mainland; only his wife knows he is actually sleeping on a grandstand. His two sons and two grandsons have been kept in the dark on his plight.
Previously an electrician who helped train workers in mainland factories, Ah Sun says he used to earn a monthly salary of HK$30,000 at the peak of his career, before he was replaced by a younger person, which drove him to Hong Kong.
He has taken up various temporary jobs since moving to the city nine years ago and chose to reside in the playground instead of handing over hard-earned cash for a bed in notoriously poor, low-end private housing.
"It is too tough to live in a subdivided flat. You would have wanted to leave after staying for half an hour in such hot weather. I don't think it is worth that much money," Ah Sun says. "No one disturbs me here, and all I want is a night's sleep."
