District Council polls: Judge me by record in serving public, says appointed politician
Sherman Chong may have been appointed to his Sha Tin seat, but he says he has worked hard - and hopes that will pay off as he faces voters
Appointed district councillors are often criticised for lacking commitment to district work.
One of their number, Sherman Chong Yiu-kan - a Sha Tin councillor since 2012 - agrees and says the public are often left with a bad impression.
An accountant by trade, Chong faces a "tough" bid to retain a seat on the district council in elections next month, four years after he was appointed.
In 2011, 68 people were appointed to add to the 412 councillors directly elected in 18 district councils, but commentators criticised the appointments as unfair as some appointees were affiliated to pro-government parties and had lost in district council polls, while no pan-democrats won such official favour.
The government has decided to abolish the appointed seats from the end of this year.
The terms of the councillors will expire on New Year's Eve and the likes of Chong and Central and Western District Council chairman David Yip Wing-shing are seeking to retain their seats by standing for election.