Centrist candidates say cross-border campaigning ahead of Hong Kong Legco poll nearly impossible and new voting scheme only benefits rivals

As many as 110,000 Hongkongers living on mainland China could turn out to vote at polling stations set up at the border on December 19 under a new arrangement

But centrist candidates say they have almost no chance of reaching the voters, pointing to short advance notice of the scheme, pandemic restrictions and mainland censorship concerns

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Independent candidate Jason Poon Chuk-hung distributes leaflets to residents in Tai Koo Shing on Wednesday. Photo: May Tse

Published: 8:13pm, 2 Dec 2021Updated: 11:25pm, 2 Dec 2021

Drumming up support among Hong Kong voters living in mainland China is almost impossible, centrist candidates running in this month’s Legislative Council poll have told the Post, accusing the government of “moving the goalposts” by allowing them to cast ballots with just weeks to go until election day.

Their inability to reach the residents would only benefit their pro-establishment rivals who had deep-rooted networks across the border, they said.

The government on Monday revealed that Hongkongers who lived on the mainland would for the first time be allowed to cast ballots in the Legco poll, slated for December 19.

But the centrist hopefuls argued that the government made the announcement so close to voting day they had too little time to develop an effective campaign strategy targeting the group.

“If this had been announced before I had signed up for the election, I would have had to make do with it,” said candidate Jeffery Chan Chun-hung, from the Path of Democracy party. “But they have only just announced it lately, moving the goalposts in the middle of an election.”

Jeffery Chan from the Path of Democracy party. Photo: Facebook

To cope with the changed battlefield, the candidates said they would instead ramp up their local campaigning in an effort to win over the supporters of traditional opposition parties, whose members have stayed away from an election they view as no longer fair after Beijing overhauled the electoral system to ensure only “patriots” governed Hong Kong.