Coalition of Hong Kong heavyweights assembling to boost pro-Beijing candidates ahead of September’s Legco election
- Led by former city leaders Tung Chee-hwa and Leung Chun-ying, the Hong Kong Coalition is lining up hundreds of prominent figures
- ‘The pro-establishment bloc will be doomed if they only rely on Carrie Lam’s administration to canvass support,’ one source said
An alliance of political and business heavyweights led by two former Hong Kong chief executives is planning a citywide campaign intended to boost pro-establishment candidates ahead of September’s Legislative Council elections, the Post has learned.
The Hong Kong Coalition, founded by former city leaders Tung Chee-hwa and Leung Chun-ying in late March, is actively lining up hundreds of prominent figures to participate in a publicity blitz that will launch once the city has begun to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Among the early recruits to the effort are former Chief Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen, deputy director of Beijing's Basic Law Committee Maria Tam Wai-chu, permanent honorary president of the Chinese Manufacturers' Association Irons Sze Wing-wai and Executive Council member Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee.
Sources said the main purpose of the alliance’s creation was to unite forces across different sectors to bolster support for the embattled pro-establishment camp, which suffered a humiliating defeat in the district council elections last November, six months after the anti-government protests erupted.
“The pro-establishment bloc will be doomed [to repeat the defeat] if they only rely on [Chief Executive] Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s administration to canvass support,” a source said.