Competition heats up for Hong Kong’s Legco poll as more veterans decline to run

Competition is expected across all three types of constituencies in Hong Kong’s coming Legislative Council election as several veterans will not seek another term and new blood is being “encouraged” to run in only the second poll held since Beijing’s “patriots-only” electoral revamp, the Post has learned. While age has been cited as a reason in some lawmakers’ decision to step away, it is not a factor for others as Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, 75, will seek another term, sources have told the Post. In the past three weeks, four of the 12 Legco members aged 70 or above have announced they will not seek another term, including Tommy Cheung Yu-yan, 76, and Chan Kin-por, 71, who both said on Saturday they would not run again. The Legco poll on December 7 will be the second since Beijing overhauled the electoral system in 2021 to ensure only “patriots” can hold political power in the city. Ninety seats will be returned, with 20 from the geographical constituencies, 30 from the trade-based functional constituencies and 40 chosen by the powerful Election Committee, which is dominated by Beijing loyalists. “There will be competition in every [type of] constituency, as the number of successfully nominated candidates will exceed the number of available seats,” a source said. “The central government values two key qualities in Legco members – first, whether they are disciplined, and second, whether they can mobilise resources and manpower to support crucial work when needed.” Another insider said Beijing would like to see capable candidates run and believed the line-up of aspirants might only be clearer days before the nomination period started on October 24. Aspirants must secure nominations from both their constituency and the Election Committee on or before November 6. All hopefuls are also pre-vetted by officials to ensure their level of “patriotism” meets the standard. A third source said he had been told that at least seven hopefuls – including five in the same type of constituency – had received calls “encouraging them to consider running for a seat”, but the insider did not think that amounted to a “blessing”, saying that it was only an indication that there might be a number of new faces running in the poll. “They are all new to Legco but are veterans in their own sectors,” the insider said. Among the departing veterans are cultural sector representative Ma Fung-kwok, 70, and Legco president Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen, 74, who said late last month he would not run again and cited age as a factor. In addition, social welfare lawmaker Tik Chi-yuen, who won his seat four years ago as the only centrist, also announced that he would not seek re-election. But age appears not to be a “hard threshold” for the race. Lawmaker Ip, the convenor of the Executive Council, is expected to seek re-election, according to multiple sources. When approached by the Post, Ip, who has previously emphasised that capability mattered more than age, said her New People’s Party would make an announcement in due course. While some veteran lawmakers are departing due to age considerations, several younger incumbents are also tipped to leave the legislature for different reasons. “They need to pay back the price for their conduct in the past,” a fourth source said, referring to lawmakers who had drawn criticism recently due to their actions. Among them is Joephy Chan Wing-yan from the Federation of Trade Unions. The lawmaker for New Territories South West first came under fire for her accusations against former Legco president Jasper Tsang Yok-sing over his views on the city’s national security law last year. The 34-year-old then attracted harsh public comments after early this year criticising a former opposition district councillor who is an advocate for families of Hongkongers caught up in scams, as she claimed the latter was hoping to run for a seat in the legislature. Another name mentioned by the source was Stanley Li Sai-wing from the New Territories South East constituency, whose work in the past four years was said to have not met Beijing’s standards. Li is a member of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, the city’s largest political party. Dominic Lee Tsz-king, 41, from the New Territories North East geographical constituency and a member of Ip’s party, was also on the list. A source said Lee’s image was not positive enough. The Post reached out to all three lawmakers, but only Lee responded, saying he had no comment on the matter. Lau Siu-kai, a consultant for the semi-official Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies think tank, offered a broader perspective on the chamber’s composition. “Despite calls for a younger Legco, veterans are needed to guide both young lawmakers and assist in collaboration with the government,” he said. “There is only one ultimate standard for who can stay and who can join – whether he or she is genuinely patriotic and that needs to be demonstrated.”

Competition heats up for Hong Kong’s Legco poll as more veterans decline to run

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Contests are expected in all three types of constituencies, source says

Contests are expected in all three types of constituencies, source says