Source:
https://scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3036066/hong-kong-protests-demonstrators-vow-take-battle-ballots
Hong Kong/ Politics

Hong Kong protests: demonstrators vow to take battle to the ballots in district council elections

  • Pro-democracy candidates say they will not worry even if polls are postponed
  • But they warn any delay in holding elections could cause more chaos
Election candidate Richard Chan was arrested in Victoria Park in Causeway Bay on Saturday. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Anti-government protesters on Saturday vowed to take their battle to the ballots in three weeks when they would cast their votes in the district council elections.

Pro-democracy candidates who showed up in the protests on Saturday said they would not even be worried if the government postponed the elections, but warned that any delay could cause more chaos.

The polls are expected to be held on November 24.

About 100 election candidates held “hustings” at Victoria Park on Saturday, after police rejected an application for an anti-government demonstration at the site.

The candidates claimed that their rallies would remain lawful as long as there were no more than 50 people at each session.

Election candidate Man Nim-chi was arrested in Victoria Park in Causeway Bay on Saturday. Photo: Xiaomei Chen
Election candidate Man Nim-chi was arrested in Victoria Park in Causeway Bay on Saturday. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

But soon after the event began in the afternoon, riot police dispersed crowds from the park and arrested candidates Osman Cheng Chung-hang, Richard Chan Chun-chit and Man Nim-chi. During the operation, officers pepper-sprayed Chan to subdue him, prompting angry calls from rally-goers for his release.

At the park and in another rally in Central, most demonstrators the Post talked to said they would translate their street protests into votes in the district council elections to show their opinion against the government.

Hugo, a fresh graduate in his 20s, said the district council elections mattered a lot despite being on the lowest rung of the electoral ladder. “It is important that I reflect my voice. This election is the easiest option to do that, and it can be the starting point of an electoral reform.”

Universal suffrage has been one of the five key demands of protesters amid the months-long movement, sparked by the now-withdrawn extradition bill in June.

Simon Tsang, a 24-year-old IT worker, said he would definitely vote. “Everyone must come out to vote. If all of us vote, miracles can happen,” he said.

A clerk, who gave her surname as Fan, said she was not too worried about a possible postponement of the elections – an idea floated by the pro-government camp in view of the increasingly violent clashes between police and protesters.

“It is not possible for the pro-Beijing camp to benefit from [the postponement] any more, the support for the opposition is here to stay for a long time to come,” she said.

Anti-government protesters and riot police face each other at Victoria Park, Causeway Bay, on Saturday. Photo: Edmond So
Anti-government protesters and riot police face each other at Victoria Park, Causeway Bay, on Saturday. Photo: Edmond So

District councillor Rayman Chow Wai-hung, who is running for re-election at Kwai Shing East Estate against Ng Chi-wah and Cherrie Lai Chung-yan, said a postponement would be seen as a partisan step taken by the government which would further anger not only protesters but also moderate voters. “It will cause further chaos,” he said.

Another candidate, Timothy Lee Hin-long, who organised the Hung Hom rally in August, said he was prepared for any eventuality, including a postponement. “When there is an election, we run our campaign. If there’s no campaign, we will see you on the streets.”

Lee is running against Lam Pok and Wong Yi-ting in To Kwa Wan South.

But Adrian Lau Chun-yu was less optimistic. “If the government postponed the elections, allowing [the protests] to drag on, people might go against us because of the impact [of the unrest] on the social order,” he said.

Activist Joshua Wong has been banned from running in the district council elections. Photo: Nora Tam
Activist Joshua Wong has been banned from running in the district council elections. Photo: Nora Tam

Lau is running for a seat in Shap Pat Heung North against incumbent Shum Ho-kit.

Chanting “I have the right to assemble, I don’t need police’s approval” with the rally-goers, Lau also lambasted the force for its crowd dispersal operations.

“The rally was peaceful and people were not blocking roads. Yet, they charged at us,” he said.

On Tuesday, the authorities banned activist Joshua Wong Chi-fung from running in the elections, saying he had not changed his stance on Hong Kong independence. But protesters on Saturday believed the ban would not impact the elections much.

“It’s just because he is Joshua Wong, other candidates like Jimmy Sham Tsz-kit or ‘Long Hair’ Leung Kwok-hung did not have any problems,” Tsang said.

“But Wong will probably use [the ban] to tell the world about what the Hong Kong government has been doing.”

Additional reporting by Zoe Low and Danny Lee