Hong Kong’s opposition targets Legislative Council seats it has not won in over 20 years for majority bid

For the 2020 Legislative Council election, pan-democrats target four key seats dominated by pro-establishment parties

The camp eyes up its first majority in the Hong Kong legislature since 1997 to force the government into democratic reforms

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Pan-democrats have revealed their strategy for securing their first Legislative Council majority in post-handover Hong Kong. Photo: Winson Wong

Published: 9:15am, 6 Apr 2020Updated: 9:42am, 6 Apr 2020

Hong Kong’s opposition camp has vowed to win four key seats seen as pro-establishment strongholds in September’s legislative election, to secure its first majority in the chamber since the 1997 handover and force the government into delivering democratic reforms.

In their bid to take control of the Legislative Council, pro-democracy politicians have urged voters to register in the functional constituencies of engineering, catering, retail and architecture – where they have not won in more than 20 years – as they seek to harness the support emerging from the anti-government protests that erupted last summer.

Riding on the momentum of the social unrest, the pro-democracy camp scored a landslide victory at local elections last November, to win 17 out of 18 district councils.

Thousands were arrested during the demonstrations sparked last June by the now-withdrawn extradition bill, as hard-core protesters threw petrol bombs and bricks at police officers, who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets.

Pro-democracy politicians have accused police of brutality and called for accountability, while the pro-Beijing camp has defended the force.

Taking most of the seats in this year’s legislative election would bring the camp’s first majority in a chamber dominated by Beijing loyalists since the city’s return from British to Chinese rule in 1997.

“A majority in Legco is, as I called it, a ‘massive constitutional weapon’. We have the power to veto the government budget,” said liberal professor Benny Tai Yiu-ting, who helped coordinate among candidate-hopefuls.