https://www.scmp.com/rss/322242/feed The New Territories East by-election held on February 28, 2016, was seen as a test of Hongkongers' preference between pro-establishment, pan-democratic and localist candidates. It was the city's first legislative election after the Occupy Central protests of 2014. Civic Party barrister Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu won. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com A top Beijing official in charge of Hong Kong affairs is fully ­prepared to accept the reality of several young radicals winning Legislative Council seats in the September election, but expects them to mature politically over time. Feng Wei, deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office in Beijing, said the central government was also analysing the reasons for the rise of radicalism and the tendency of protesters to resort to violent means to achieve their ends. READ MORE: Hong... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1925094/several-young-hong-kong-radicals-likely-get-elected?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1925094/several-young-hong-kong-radicals-likely-get-elected?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Mar 2016 15:30:45 +0000 A pro-Beijing heavyweight has drawn a gloomy picture for politicians in the camp, saying they face an uphill battle in the forthcoming Legislative Council polls, with seat losses “highly likely”. Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai – the only Hong Kong member in the National People’s Congress standing committee and a former Legco president – gave three reasons for her bleak forecast. First, the last Legco victory for the pro-establishment camp relied on miscalculations in the opposition­ pan-democratic camp,... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1924023/pro-beijing-camp-faces-uphill-battle-legco-polls-says-rita?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1924023/pro-beijing-camp-faces-uphill-battle-legco-polls-says-rita?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Mar 2016 18:45:00 +0000 Hong Kong’s largest pro-Beijing party should consider fielding candidates in future chief executive elections, said Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong lawmaker Chan Kam-lam. Speaking on an RTHK radio show on Friday, the DAB lawmaker said it was “natural” and “very reasonable” for the party to consider taking part in the race. “If a party doesn’t have such ambition, then the party’s development would be limited,” Chan said. READ MORE: He’s more unpopular than ever …... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1923050/ready-run-hong-kongs-top-pro-beijing-party-suggests-putting?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1923050/ready-run-hong-kongs-top-pro-beijing-party-suggests-putting?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Mar 2016 05:37:07 +0000 The New Territories East by-election has been branded a dress rehearsal for the Legislative Council poll on September 4. It is now clear that the activists behind the violent protests in Mong Kok are poised to make their way into the legislature. It is now clear that the activists behind the violent protests in Mong Kok are poised to make their way into the legislature Edward Leung Tin-kei, who was on bail in connection with alleged rioting, lost in the by-election but managed to garner more... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1922900/hong-kongs-pan-democrats-must-unite-battle-survival-ahead?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1922900/hong-kongs-pan-democrats-must-unite-battle-survival-ahead?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Mar 2016 09:18:28 +0000 Edward Leung Tin-kei of Hong Kong Indigenous has found himself in hot water after the localist admitted he wasn’t actually born in Hong Kong but on the mainland. Leung has been critical of the government’s inability to control people from across the border from coming to Hong Kong. READ MORE: Explained: who are Hong Kong Indigenous and what was their role in the Mong Kok protest and riot? His group has also staged protests against parallel traders from the mainland, accusing them of stealing the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1921966/new-storm-hong-kong-indigenous-candidate-edward-leung-admits?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1921966/new-storm-hong-kong-indigenous-candidate-edward-leung-admits?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Mar 2016 12:40:37 +0000 Of course Beijing is concerned with the New Territories East by-election results. Hong Kong Indigenous candidate Edward Leung Tin-kei garnered an impressive – shocking, to some – amount of votes. Capturing a little over 15 per cent of valid votes cast in his debut campaign is no small feat. Leung himself interpreted the result as “considerable [support for] our political philosophy… and also our means of protest”. READ MORE: Beyond the by-election: Hong Kong young people fuel rise of localism at... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1920551/its-within-beijings-power-halt-march-radicalism-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1920551/its-within-beijings-power-halt-march-radicalism-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Mar 2016 00:00:43 +0000 Localist Edward Leung Tin-kei reeled in votes from areas that backed radical candidates in the 2012 Legislative Council election, a South China Morning Post study of the results of last Sunday’s New Territories East by-election has found. The findings point to fiercer competition and further splintering among radical pro-democracy groups in the upcoming Legco elections. Despite Leung, of Hong Kong Indigenous, winning an eye-catching 66,524 votes, it was still unclear if the pro-independence... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1920904/hong-kong-localists-vote-haul-election-points-further-splits?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1920904/hong-kong-localists-vote-haul-election-points-further-splits?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 04 Mar 2016 16:00:00 +0000 Support for localism is on the rise in universities, with possibly up to half of the city’s eight publicly funded institutions installing pro-localist student unions this year, the Post has learned. But none of the student leaders the Post interviewed insisted on independence for Hong Kong as their desired objective. They were, however, poised to push for a greater Hongkongers-first approach and what they described as greater protection for the city’s core values. READ MORE: Localism is becoming... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1920117/beyond-election-hong-kong-young-people-fuel-rise-localism?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1920117/beyond-election-hong-kong-young-people-fuel-rise-localism?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Mar 2016 10:17:31 +0000 The central government will not tighten its policies on Hong Kong after a localist candidate scored a sizeable vote share in Sunday’s Legislative Council by-election in New Territories East, a mainland expert on Hong Kong affairs said on Wednesday. Qi Pengfei, director of Renmin University’s research centre on Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, said Beijing still maintained that “one country, two systems” had been successfully implemented in Hong Kong and did not believe the situation of Hong Kong had... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1919976/beijing-will-not-tighten-hong-kong-policy-just-because?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1919976/beijing-will-not-tighten-hong-kong-policy-just-because?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Mar 2016 14:47:37 +0000 Two Beijing-loyalist heavyweights dropped a strong hint yesterday that Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying should be supported for a second term, even though critics blamed him for creating disharmony in Hong Kong. Maria Tam Wai-chu, a local deputy to the National People’s Congress, and Chan Wing-kee, a Standing Committee member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference – the nation’s top political advisory body – were speaking in the capital days after localist candidate Edward... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1919968/second-chance-hong-kongs-leader-beijing-loyalists-speak?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1919968/second-chance-hong-kongs-leader-beijing-loyalists-speak?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Mar 2016 12:35:23 +0000 Newly elected Civic Party lawmaker Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu said he was “slightly overwhelmed” when taking his oath on Wednesday morning. Yeung won the New Territories East by-election on Sunday, securing 160,000 votes, to replace former party colleague and mentor Ronny Tong Ka-wah, who quit in the wake of a failed bid to reform the chief executive election. He attended the Legislative Council meeting surrounded by party associates. At 11am, when the session started, the first item on the agenda was... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1919641/newly-elected-pan-democrat-lawmaker-alvin-yeung-slightly?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1919641/newly-elected-pan-democrat-lawmaker-alvin-yeung-slightly?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Mar 2016 05:08:38 +0000 A key figure of localist group Hong Kong Indigenous claims his family has received threats from “powerful people” to make him disappear like Lee Po, the bookseller allegedly spirited to the mainland late last year. Speaking of his experiences since his February 21 arrest over his alleged role in the Mong Kok riot, Ray Wong Toi-yeung said his relatives were contacted by different people through various channels, including by phone and middlemen, in the days after the event. Wong refused to... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1919563/powerful-people-threatened-radical-hong-kong-localist-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1919563/powerful-people-threatened-radical-hong-kong-localist-and?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Mar 2016 16:30:00 +0000 Civic Party barrister Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu won a crucial by-election on Sunday to maintain the pan-democrats’ power to block unpopular bills in the legislature. But it was localist Edward Leung Tin-kei’s feat of scoring a sizeable vote share that looks set to steer Hong Kong politics into uncharted territory. Leung, an independence advocate, won 66,524 of 432,581 valid votes – about 15.4 per cent – in New Territories East. In his debut campaign, he came third after Holden Chow Ho-ding of the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1918987/civic-party-wins-new-territories-east-election-edward-leung?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1918987/civic-party-wins-new-territories-east-election-edward-leung?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Feb 2016 15:00:15 +0000 Edward Leung Tin-kei, the localist who was a nobody prior to the Mong Kong riot, stunned pundits and politicians alike by clinching 15.4 per cent of total valid votes cast in Sunday’s Legislative Council by-election for the New Territories East constituency. The million-dollar question now is – who are the supporters of the 24-year-old University of Hong Kong philosophy student? According to a study of the vote share of candidates by the South China Morning Post, Leung scored a remarkable... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1918985/despite-facing-rioting-charge-localist-edward-leung-garnered-16-cent?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1918985/despite-facing-rioting-charge-localist-edward-leung-garnered-16-cent?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Feb 2016 14:45:30 +0000 Five pro-independence localists plan to vie for seats in the September Legislative Council elections as part of their bid to push to rewrite the Basic Law to make Hong Kong “a quasi city state”. They warn of using more radical means to pursue their goals once elected and claim they would resign “in due course” to trigger by-elections that would serve as a de facto referendum on “Hong Kong independence”. Their plan aims to bank on the rising tide of localism after political greenhorn Edward Leung... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1918982/five-localists-plan-run-legco-seats-push-hong-kong-independence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1918982/five-localists-plan-run-legco-seats-push-hong-kong-independence?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Feb 2016 14:00:30 +0000 Before Sunday’s by-election, the city’s biggest pro-establishment party had urged people to vote for Holden Chow Ho-ding to show they wanted Hong Kong to “be back on the right track”. The message focused on the violent clashes in Mong Kok and pan-democrats’ filibustering tactics in the legislature. It was a campaign that caused concern among pan-democrat heavyweights as a victory in the New Territories East constituency for Chow, vice-chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1918974/hong-kong-pan-democrats-fear-being-punished-voters-proves?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1918974/hong-kong-pan-democrats-fear-being-punished-voters-proves?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Feb 2016 12:37:27 +0000 Edward Leung Tin-kei may have lost the the Legislative Council ­by-election, but the 24-year-old has paved the way for a new era of Hong Kong politics where localist sentiments will increasingly come to matter. The pan-democrats scored a victory in New Territories East, with Civic Party’s Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu winning the seat and maintaining the bloc’s voting power in the chamber. But the emergence of candidates like Leung signals a looming battle for the city’s pro-democracy vote. Leung, who... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1918470/despite-election-victory-hong-kongs-pan-democrats-face-tough?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1918470/despite-election-victory-hong-kongs-pan-democrats-face-tough?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Feb 2016 03:00:30 +0000 Civic Party barrister and pan-democrat Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu has won the hotly fought Legislative Council New Territories East by-election to retain the seat left vacant by Ronny Tong Ka-wah, who quit the party and the legislature last year. Out of some 434,000 ballots, Yeung won 160,880 votes. His arch-rival, Holden Chow Ho-ding from the Beijing-loyalist Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, got 150,329 votes. Localist candidate Edward Leung Tin-kei, from Hong Kong... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1918450/pro-democracy-candidate-alvin-yeung-wins-hotly-contested?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1918450/pro-democracy-candidate-alvin-yeung-wins-hotly-contested?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Feb 2016 16:30:45 +0000 Edward Leung Tin-Kei was late for his first election rally on the last day of campaigning. It was tempting to think that he was not taking his debut as a politician stumping for votes too seriously. But by the time he was done last night, he had held 15 rallies, zig-zagging all over the New Territories East constituency.Pollsters and pundits knew better than to write off the candidate from Hong Kong Indigenous. READ MORE: Why Hong Kong by-election today matters: rifts in two main blocs could... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1918442/spoiling-fight-hong-kong-indigenous-candidate-edward-leung?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1918442/spoiling-fight-hong-kong-indigenous-candidate-edward-leung?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Feb 2016 14:15:30 +0000 The merits and pitfalls of radical politics and filibustering were key deciding factors for many New Territories East voters in choosing front-runners in the Legislative Council by-elections on Sunday. Voters the Post spoke to were also largely swayed by their opinions on the recent Mong Kok riot, in which one of the dark horses, localist Edward Leung Tin-kei, was a key figure. “I think he can really help Hong Kong,” said Leung supporter Nicky Wong Ho-yi, a second-year University of Hong Kong... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1918433/vox-pop-pros-and-cons-radical-politics-and-filibustering?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1918433/vox-pop-pros-and-cons-radical-politics-and-filibustering?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Feb 2016 12:47:30 +0000 Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu Age: 34 Occupation: Barrister Civic Party Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu, a barrister who became well known for his pro-bono work during the Occupy movement in 2014, was groomed by former lawmaker and mentor Ronny Tong Ka-wah – whose resignation triggered the by-election. Yeung, 34, is seen as a rising star among the pan-democrats. He was previously an activist in the now-defunct 7.1 People Pile, a protest group named after the 2003 anti-government march. A member of the Civic Party... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1918097/whos-running-new-territories-east-election-profiles-3-front?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1918097/whos-running-new-territories-east-election-profiles-3-front?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Feb 2016 09:15:00 +0000 Clashes broke out during campaigning in the Legislative Council New Territories East by-election, for which voting ended at 10.30pm. A total of 430,000 people voted in the by-election, representing a turnout rate of 46.1 per cent, lower than the 53.9 per cent in the 2012 Legco election. At about 7pm, a 30-minute scuffle between pedestrians and supporters of Civic Party candidate Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu outside Tai Wai MTR station prompted police to threaten to use pepper spray at least twice as a... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1918089/clashes-break-out-shortly-polls-close-new-territories-east?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1918089/clashes-break-out-shortly-polls-close-new-territories-east?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Feb 2016 07:00:15 +0000 Back in June last year when former Civic Party lawmaker Ronny Tong Ka-wah triggered a by-election by resigning from Hong Kong’s Legislative Council, few anticipated the poll in the New Territories East seat would hold much significance. But a lot is at stake today as voting began this morning at 7.30am. 1. Are localists a political force to be reckoned with after the Mong Kok riot? All eyes will be on how many votes Hong Kong Indigenous candidate Edward Leung Tin-kei will be able to reel in.... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1918074/why-hong-kong-election-today-matters-rifts-two-main-blocs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1918074/why-hong-kong-election-today-matters-rifts-two-main-blocs?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Feb 2016 03:45:45 +0000 More than 276,336 voters cast their ballots in the first 10 hours of polling for the Legislative Council’s New Territories East geographical constituency by-election on Sunday as the seven candidates made last-ditch efforts to rally support. The accumulative turnout rate stood at 29.39 per cent as of 5.30pm, lower than the 32.21 per cent recorded in the first 10 hours of polling in the 2012 Legco election. The by-election, which will end at 10.30pm on Sunday, will fill the seat vacated by former... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1918042/vigorous-campaigning-continues-new-territories-east-election?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1918042/vigorous-campaigning-continues-new-territories-east-election?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Feb 2016 03:16:00 +0000 It is “beyond doubt” the Hong Kong government will ask the legislature to rewrite internal rules to limit filibuster if Holden Chow Ho-ding wins the by-election today and helps the pro-establishment camp get a majority, an ex-minister has said. “How would the government give up the golden chance?,” former secretary for the civil service Wong Wing-ping told the Sunday Morning Post a day ahead of the New Territories East poll. “That will be the only chance for the government to amend the rules and... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1918033/new-territories-east-election-pro-government-camp-will?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1918033/new-territories-east-election-pro-government-camp-will?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Feb 2016 18:00:30 +0000 With representatives of almost every pan-democratic party providing the backdrop in a show of solidarity, Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu is trying to woo voters in Tseung Kwan O on a foggy Sunday. The damp weather matches the young man’s sombre expression replacing his usual smile. He has cause for concern, nearly two weeks after the Mong Kok riot, which left more than 130 people injured, including 90 police officers, and led to the arrests of more than 60 people. Yeung of the Civic Party, the sole... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1915108/new-territories-east-election-hong-kong-legco-poll-no-other?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1915108/new-territories-east-election-hong-kong-legco-poll-no-other?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Feb 2016 14:00:30 +0000 The candidate who wins the by-election on February 28 may only have five months in the legislature but the result’s impact could ricochet far beyond the current legislative year. The most significant consequence concerns potential changes to the Legislative Council’s rules of procedure to restrict filibustering. The pro-democracy camp has employed Legco rules to drag out debates on controversial bills by submitting thousands of amendments, requesting numerous quorum counts and making multiple... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1915109/how-new-territories-east-election-could-help-re-write-legco?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1915109/how-new-territories-east-election-could-help-re-write-legco?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Feb 2016 14:00:30 +0000