Wild card Checkley Sin says he has no Beijing connections, official blessing for Hong Kong chief executive race
- In public speech at Foreign Correspondents’ Club, Checkley Sin admits, ‘I have no connections or relations to get a blessing’
- Chief executive hopeful says he has waited ‘a bit too long’ for political opponents to emerge for election race
Making his first public speech at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club after declaring he would run for the race last month, film producer and kung fu master Checkley Sin Kwok-lam on Monday said he had received lots of criticism in the past two weeks, accusing him of seeking exposure and having little prospect of winning.
“So many people told me it’s mission impossible. They told me if I want to run for the chief executive election, I need to have a blessing from someone, but I have no connections or relations to get a blessing,” Sin said.
“I do not care about [whether I can win]. It’s a service to society,” Sin said, adding that he had hoped to show his daughter how much he cared about Hong Kong after he separated from his wife last year.
What we know so far about this year’s Hong Kong leadership race
Sin, 64, said he had only discussed the idea with two friends before deciding to participate in the race, and that he has waited for some time for other opponents to show up.
“I am like a boxer, already sitting on the wing, and waiting for my opponent. It has been a bit too long and I almost fell asleep,” he said, while stopping short of suggesting who his possible rivals could be.
On public policy, Sin said he would support having a fake news law to deal with rumours, while also encouraging the government to lock down communities on a larger scale, much like mainland China does, to tackle the city’s worsening pandemic.
Sin is a former managing director of Wing Hang Credit and an ex-chairman of National Arts Holdings, which produces and distributes films.
Sin is also a protégé of the son of late kung fu master Ip Man. Kung fu legend Bruce Lee was one of Ip Man’s disciples.
Hong Kong chief executive hopeful Checkley Sin proposes new mega prison on Lamma
The city’s next leader will be chosen on March 27 by the powerful Election Committee, which is packed with pro-government loyalists. It will be the first race for the city’s top job since Beijing’s “patriots-only” overhaul of the electoral system.
To become a candidate for chief executive, hopefuls must obtain the endorsement of one-eighth of the committee’s 1,463 members and at least 15 nominations from each of the body’s five sectors. The rule means hopefuls need broad-based support from all sectors just to get approval to run, effectively raising the barrier to even enter the race.
