‘Fooling oneself’ to claim independent campaign after getting help from Beijing, unionist says in veiled attack on Carrie Lam
Pro-establishment heavyweight Chan Yuen-han says politicians should have courage to stand for what is right
Lam, the former chief secretary who is perceived by many to be the central government’s favoured choice in the race, had been reiterating that she was “running her own campaign” amid reports that the officials from Beijing’s liaison office had canvassed votes for her behind the scenes.
“As far as I know, there is never such a concept of ‘I’m in charge of my electioneering’, as an election is all about teamwork,” Chan, of the Federation of Trade Unions, wrote in her weekly column in free daily newspaper AM730 on Monday.
“But in recent years, I have heard a number of remarks [from candidates] attempting to steer clear of others, such as saying ‘they did not help me’, ‘I run alone’ and ‘I am independent’ ... I look down on such remarks. Why would you dodge it when you in fact have received assistance?”