Hong Kong is holding its Legislative Council election in two months and campaigning has begun – very quietly, behind the scenes
- Opposition muted as pro-establishment camp mulls different ways to win Legco seats
- Beijing’s overhaul of elections system transforms mood, tactics in run-up to polls
There has been little speculation over candidates or where they might contest and no banners, posters, or politicians with loudhailers appealing to voters in commercial and residential districts to support either the pro-government or opposition camp.
Critics argue the changes have made it almost impossible for opposition candidates to take part, and only three centrist hopefuls have stepped forward so far.
“Normally the election is held in September and we would start preparing at the beginning of the year,” said Yeung Yuk, acting chairman of the opposition party Hong Kong Association for Democracy and People’s Livelihood, who ran as a candidate in 2016 and lost.
He recalled that five years ago, his party’s potential candidates started going out to meet residents during Lunar New Year, handing out calendars and fai chun, the traditional decoration bearing good wishes in Chinese calligraphy.
Over the following months, the team formulated strategies, while candidates did all they could to stay in the public eye, before starting to give interviews from about three months before the election.
“This is no longer the case,” he said.