Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement yesterday got a boost with about eight candidates involved in last year’s crippling protests winning office at district-level elections, while some veterans from both sides of the political divide suffered defeat.
The election of the so-called “Umbrella soldiers” — named after last year’s demonstrations in which activists used umbrellas to protect themselves against tear gas and pepper spray — reflects continued support for political change in the territory.
“The paratroopers are the new force,” said James Sung (宋力功), a political analyst at the City University of Hong Kong, referring to candidates inspired by the Umbrella movement. “The paratroopers are a new power, a challenge to the government and the central authorities in Beijing.”
Results from Sunday’s polls, which saw about 900 candidates compete for 431 district council seats, where pro-Beijing parties currently hold a majority, were announced yesterday.
“My greatest wish, at this moment, is to serve the community well,” said Wong Chi-ken (黃子健), 38, who took part in the protests and has been referred to in local media as an Umbrella soldier.
The election of candidates who took part in the protests now casts them in a legitimate political light, in contrast to how they were perceived by some during the demonstrations, which were deemed illegal by the central government in Beijing.
District councilors wield little power, acting more in an advisory role in which they can push forward policies, in particular grassroots concerns, for the territory’s government to consider.
However, the poll results might provide insight into how elections for the territory’s powerful Legislative Council, due next year, and a controversial leadership poll in 2017 could pan out.
“The results show that the Umbrella Soldiers reflect the intention or wishes of the youngsters,” political commentator Johnny Lau (劉銳紹) said.
At least 40 candidates who took part in the democracy protests, or were inspired by them, ran in the elections, local media reported.
Two democracy veterans lost their seats.
Democratic Party Legislator and heavyweight Albert Ho (何俊仁), who faced stiff competition in the gritty new town of Tuen Mun in the western New Territories, lost his seat. So, too, did Frederick Fung (馮檢基), another pan-democratic candidate who ran in the working-class district of Sham Shui Po.
On the pro-Beijing side, Chung Shu-kun (鍾樹根) of the pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong was unseated after 21 years in a surprise move.
The mixed results from the elections, in which a record number of people voted, will not significantly change the numerical make-up of pro-democracy and pro-government groups.
The 79-day demonstrations last year, when activists streamed on to highways to demand full democracy for the former British colony, became the biggest political challenge to Chinese Communist Party leaders in years.
The protests failed to persuade China to allow a fully democratic vote in 2017. Beijing said territory voters have to choose from a list of candidates it has approved if they want a vote.
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