Why chanting popular slogan ‘Liberate Hong Kong; revolution of our times’ could sink chances of district council election hopefuls

Dominant rallying cry of the protest movement was used by independence activist Edward Leung during his 2016 election campaign

District council hopefuls questioned on the slogan by returning officers include Sha Tin district councillor Billy Chan

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The slogan ‘Liberate Hong Kong; revolution of our time’ can be found spray-painted all over Hong Kong. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

Published: 8:30am, 15 Oct 2019Updated: 10:41am, 15 Oct 2019

District Council hopefuls who chant “Liberate Hong Kong; revolution of our times” might be risking disqualification from upcoming elections as the government is seeking clarification on what the most commonly heard rallying cry of the ongoing protests means to them.

Pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong Chi-fung, who plans to run for election in Southern district, revealed on his Facebook page on Monday night that he received a letter from the returning officer asking whether he represented his party Demosisto and whether he agreed with it advocating that “self-determination” included the option of Hong Kong independence.

Other hopefuls questioned on the protest slogan included Sha Tin district councillor Billy Chan Shiu-yeung, who is seeking re-election on November 24.

Joshua Wong has been asked some questions by a returning officer. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Chan, of the group Community Sha Tin, revealed on Monday he got a letter from the returning officer, who said his explanation would determine whether his nomination would be validated.

Authorities have barred a number of candidates from taking part in Legislative Council elections since 2016 on the grounds that their political stance of pursuing independence or self-determination went against the city’s mini-constitution, the Basic Law.

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