All Around Town | Butting in at radio forum raises eyebrows

Independent Sai Kung district councillor Christine Fong Kwok-shan ran in several elections before, so when it comes to forums, she knows candidates cannot always stick to the rules.Fong is running in next month’s Legislative Council by-election in New Territories East, and as she attended a forum on Commercial Radio yesterday, she surprised rivals by interrupting debates between other candidates.As Nelson Wong Shing-chi, from moderate group Third Side, was questioning Holden Chow Ho-ding from the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong over his attendance at a village banquet, Fong weighed in and accused Chow, saying: “His party is giving out bowls of congee too!” When independent Lau Chi-shing was asking Civic Party’s Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu about parallel trading, Fong jumped in and said: “I agree that both the local and mainland authorities should do something!” Amid a heated argument between Chow and Yeung, Fong played the role of onlooker, saying: “This is how the two camps are wasting Hong Kong people’s time on quarrels!” The other candidates are Edward Leung Tin-kei from pro-democracy group Hong Kong Indigenous and independent Albert Leung Sze-ho.

Tony Cheung

Laboured pro-Beijing backing for democrat

Labour policy, a hot potato for the administration, contributed to a rare scene of a pro-establisment group showing support for pan-democrats in the Legislative Council yesterday. At the first meeting of a newly formed subcommittee to study the arrangements for the offsetting mechanism under the Mandatory Provident Fund, several lawmakers from the Federation of Trade Unions voted for Democrat Sin Chung-kai – rather than the Liberal Party’s Tommy Cheung Yu-yan – to become chairman. “I was forced to do so,” Chan Yuen-han, an FTU veteran who had called for the government to scrap the offsetting mechanism, told reporters afterwards. The mechanism, which Leung Chun-ying promised to review, allows employers to use the contributions paid to their employees’ MPF accounts for severance payments when they terminate employee contracts. The FTU and labour-rights groups have called the system unfair. Given Cheung’s pro-business background, it is little surprise the FTU chose to back their rival, Sin, making him a rare chairman in Legco where most committee heads are from the pro-Beijing camp. In the end, Sin won the post through a draw after both he and Cheung received 12 votes.

Joyce Ng

Exco convenor hints at political withdrawal