Hong Kong’s pro-democracy bloc vows to turn screw on government after district council poll wins
- Leaders of major opposition parties call for high-level resignations, and for officials to engage with protest movement’s demands
- They also vow to look to the future and work on livelihood issues, to avoid repeating losses of 2007
Leaders of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy bloc warned on Monday they would use the group’s landslide victory in local elections to put pressure on the government to accede to the demands of a protest movement which has gripped the city for nearly six months.
They also vowed to look to the future and work on livelihood issues, to avoid a repeat of losses suffered in 2007.
The Democratic Party more than doubled its seat count from 43 to 91 on Sunday, dislodging the pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong as the city’s biggest party at the local level.
It urged city leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor to step down and respect the five demands of the anti-government protesters. The demands include an independent inquiry into allegations of police brutality and amnesty for arrested demonstrators.
“The results are beyond candidates’ personal effort, being part of the movement from all the protesters; all the people being hurt and arrested. We have to bear in mind that that’s the basis of the support,” party chairman Wu Chi-wai said.
