Democratic Party expels 2 members for breaking ranks by backing centrist candidate in Hong Kong’s revamped legislative poll

Party ejects vice-chairwoman Edith Leung and member So Yat-hang for supporting Jason Poon in his unsuccessful run for seat
Cracks in ranks of city’s largest opposition party began to appear last year as members debated whether to take any role in overhauled election process

Hong Kong politics

Chris Lau

Published: 9:00am, 17 Feb 2022

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The Democratic Party has expelled two members who broke ranks to endorse a middle-of-the-road candidate in December’s Legislative Council election in a disciplinary action that highlights a rift within the main player in Hong Kong’s opposition camp.

The party’s central committee voted on Wednesday night to eject vice-chairwoman Edith Leung Yik-ting and member So Yat-hang for supporting Jason Poon Chuk-hung in his unsuccessful bid as a centrist candidate.

A source previously told the Post the pair were at the centre of an internal inquiry by the party’s disciplinary committee, which last month also handed a six-month suspension to veteran member and former lawmaker Fred Li Wah-ming after he backed former colleague Tik Chi-yuen, the only candidate outside the pro-establishment bloc to win a seat.

Former Democratic Party vice-chairwoman Edith Leung. Photo: Dickson Lee

The disciplinary action underscored fissures that erupted within the party after it decided to sit out the poll alongside others from the mainstream opposition bloc following Beijing’s overhaul of the electoral system to ensure only “patriots” held power, a revamp they labelled a pretext to stifle dissent.

The decision by Leung, So and Li to back candidates was met with complaints from other party members. Chairman Lo Kin-hei said that while the party had given approval for some members to endorse candidates, the three were not among them.

Explaining the decision to expel Leung and So, Lo said they were party leaders, yet neither took part in the internal probe, disrespecting the process and the organisation’s charter. But Li had complied with the investigation, and given his contributions to the party over the years, his penalty was suspended, Lo said.

The Post has reached out to Leung and So for comments.

Former Democratic Party member So Yat-hang. Photo: So Yat-hang Facebook

It is understood that So and Leung had led a faction that privately lobbied colleagues to run in the poll as they were convinced taking part would help shield the party, or at least themselves, from “persecution” and arrest at a time when the organisation was under attack by pro-Beijing figures and media.

But the idea was opposed by most members, who argued the revamped election was undemocratic.

Pro-Beijing veteran Lo Man-tuen then suggested the party could be in breach of the national security law if it banned members from running. The law imposed by Beijing in June 2020 targets acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces.

Just ahead of polling day, the state-run People’s Daily slashed out party chairman Lo, saying he and his allies had to be swept away in a “house clean-up” or the group would have no future. It accused him of “hijacking” the party and barring members from joining the race, as well as “siding with foreign forces” to oppose the changes to the electoral system.

The pro-establishment bloc swept all but one seat in the Legco election in the December election amid a record-low turnout of 30.2 per cent.

Tik was the only centrist winner, as all moderate candidates vying for a directly elected seat in the geographical constituencies were defeated by a wide margin.