Hong Kong elections: new vetting panel disqualifies 1 from running in Legislative Council race
- Sole disqualification came because hopeful was a part-time government employee, according to Chief Secretary John Lee, who says mix of Legco aspirants shows balanced representation
- City’s No 2 swats down suggestion standards were loosened to draw non-establishment candidates to compensate for opposition camp’s absence
Registered nurse Lau Tsz-chun, vying for a seat in the medical and health services sector, was the only aspirant whose candidacy was invalidated, a decision Chief Secretary John Lee Ka-chiu said was made on the grounds of Lau being a part-time government employee.
The city’s Legislative Council Ordinance states that judicial officers and prescribed public officers are ineligible for nomination.
The results of the vetting process, which cleared the other 153 Legco hopefuls to run in next month’s election, were announced on Friday by Lee, who is chairman of the Candidate Eligibility Review Committee.
He told a press conference that the mix of candidates from different backgrounds and sections of society proved the election had achieved a balanced representation.
But reporters repeatedly asked Lee whether the vetting committee had deliberately loosened its standards to allow for the participation of candidates who did not publicly identify as pro-establishment in a bid to make up for the absence of the opposition camp, which is boycotting the polls over rule changes it believes are designed to stifle dissent.
