Jump to content

What’s a manifesto? Hong Kong Legco candidates’ simple slogans, brief statements show ‘lack of effort’


The_King

Recommended Posts

Many candidates in this month’s Hong Kong Legislative Council elections apparently adhere to the words of the Confucian scholar who told an emperor 2,000 years ago: “Good government does not require a lot of talk.”

In describing their election platforms, they chose brevity, substituting just a few words or a slogan for a fuller manifesto or mission statement.

Pro-Beijing lawyer Ambrose Lam San-keung had just three words for the 7,549 voters he is wooing in the legal functional constituency: “Serve with sincerity.”

The mission statement for lawyer Ambrose Lam San-keung (left) consisted of just three words. Photo: K. Y. Cheng
The mission statement for lawyer Ambrose Lam San-keung (left) consisted of just three words. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

The former Law Society president had the least to say among the 153 candidates for the December 19 election, the first since Beijing overhauled Hong Kong’s electoral system earlier this year to ensure that only “patriots” run the city.

 
 

The legal sector seat in the Legco had been held by the pro-democracy bloc since 1998, when elections were held a year after the city was returned to China.

 

Elected Law Society president in 2013, Lam resigned the following year after a no-confidence vote over remarks he made praising the Communist Party. He did not respond to inquiries from the Post.

 

Observers said the decision by so many candidates to issue such brief remarks was not only a missed opportunity to tell voters and the media what they stood for, but also reflected the lack of conviction among some taking part in the elections.

 

Many are merely also-rans who signed up to heed Beijing’s call to boost the atmosphere of the election Political scientist Ivan Choy on the new crop of Legco candidates

 
 

Candidates were given enough space to write a few hundred words as their “electoral message” in the personal profiles they uploaded to the website of the Registration and Electoral Office.

 

The candidate with possibly the longest statement, Michael Tien Puk-sun, managed about 400 words. He is running in the New Territories North West geographical constituency.

 

Political scientist Ivan Choy Chi-keung of Chinese University said it was no surprise that many candidates failed to produce detailed statements describing their platforms.

“Many are merely also-rans who signed up to heed Beijing’s call to boost the atmosphere of the election,” he said.

Allan Zeman said his mission statement was uploaded only in Chinese as there was limited space on the form. Photo: Dickson Lee
Allan Zeman said his mission statement was uploaded only in Chinese as there was limited space on the form. Photo: Dickson Lee

A check by the Post found that 26 candidates – or one in six – made slogan-like statements in filing their personal profiles to the electoral office.

 

As for issues, housing emerged as the most popular, with 42 urging the government to come up with measures to fix the shortage, while 33 highlighted patriotism and national security.

Only 23 candidates mentioned political issues such as governance and universal suffrage, including five who called for a redo of the electoral reform process.

 

Most candidates offered mission statements in Chinese only, with 34 providing bilingual versions. These were uploaded to the electoral office’s website on Monday.

Entertainment tycoon Allan Zeman, chairman of the Lan Kwai Fong Group, did not offer an English-language version of his platform. His statement in Chinese called for safeguarding national security and ensuring the principle of “patriots governing Hong Kong”.

Michael Tien was a rarity among Legco candidates in that he offered up a nearly 400-word mission statement. Photo: K. Y. Cheng
Michael Tien was a rarity among Legco candidates in that he offered up a nearly 400-word mission statement. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

One of two white Hongkongers running for election, he told the Post there was limited space in the form.

 

“I am doing all my election speeches in English and the same with my election brochures, where I am not limited by space,” said Zeman, a Canadian who made his fortune in Hong Kong and took up Chinese citizenship.

The other white candidate, Mike Rowse, former director general of the government department InvestHK, had a bilingual message for the 1,448 members of the strengthened Election Committee who will pick 40 lawmakers.

 

Rowse, a former British citizen who also took up Chinese citizenship, had a short message: “Together we can make Hong Kong tick.”

With the revamp of the political system, Legco has been expanded from 70 to 90 seats, but the number of directly elected members has been simultaneously slashed from 35 to just 20.

 

Dream and Butter: a promising teaching career is what Hong Kong deserves a better future One candidate’s English-language mission statement

 
 

Apart from the 40 seats picked by the Election Committee, which is packed with Beijing loyalists, 30 seats are for 28 mainly trade-based functional constituencies.

With mainstream opposition parties sitting out the election, members of the pro-establishment camp have reportedly been coordinating among themselves to ensure a contest in every constituency, as Beijing is said to be keen to avoid walkover victories.

Former pan-democratic lawmaker Frederick Fung Kin-kee and two candidates from the centrist Third Side party did not mention political reform in their mission statements.

The group is led by former Democratic Party member Tik Chi-yuen, who is running for the social welfare sector seat.

Taiwan-born Phoenix TV presenter Vie Tseng Chin-I and catering sector candidate Rayman Chui Man-wai said nothing at all about their platforms, leaving the section of their forms blank.

Some have suggested Beijing is worried by the possibility of low voter turnout for an election that has seen Hong Kong’s opposition effectively eliminated. Photo: Felix Wong
Some have suggested Beijing is worried by the possibility of low voter turnout for an election that has seen Hong Kong’s opposition effectively eliminated. Photo: Felix Wong

Tseng said she had been confused by the new title of the section, which had been labelled “election platform” on the 2016 forms.

“I asked the electoral office if I could amend it, but they said it couldn’t be done after nominations closed on November 12,” she said.

Chui did not respond to inquiries.

Johnny Ng Kit-chong, a film and TV producer running in the Election Committee constituency, had just six Chinese characters for his mission statement. They translated as: “Vision, integration and innovation.”

But the businessman said that was meant to describe his vision, not his platform.

“I have sent my detailed platform to Election Committee members over the past few weeks,” he said.

Film and TV producer Johnny Ng said the three-word mission statement he uploaded was not meant to represent his full platform. Photo: Kimmy Chung
Film and TV producer Johnny Ng said the three-word mission statement he uploaded was not meant to represent his full platform. Photo: Kimmy Chung

His manifesto calls for Hong Kong’s proactive integration into China’s 14th five-year plan, inspiring young people with patriotism and positive values, and promoting modernisation of the culture and arts industry.

Former security minister Lai Tung-kok, who is running in the same constituency, told committee voters that “‘one country, two systems’ works for you”. He added that the formula, under which the city is guaranteed a high degree of autonomy, was the recipe for a new chapter in Hong Kong’s history.

Jessica Man Sze-wing, running in the education functional constituency, had this English-language message for the sector’s 85,117 voters: “Dream and Butter: a promising teaching career is what Hong Kong deserves a better future.”

Political observer Max Wong Wai-lun said some candidates produced slogans instead of manifestos because many were ill-prepared for the election.

An assistant professor at the University of Hong Kong’s School of Modern Languages and Culture, he said it would take time to adapt to “the mainland-style election model” transplanted to the city.

“Beijing wants competition for the election after the drastic revamp and many candidates were mobilised to take the plunge,” Wong explained.

“Many pro-establishment candidates get lost without competition from the pro-democracy bloc. They don’t know how to conduct their campaign, as they have little idea of voters’ behaviour in the new era.”

 

 

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3158471/whats-manifesto-hong-kongs-legislative-council-candidates

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Mugentech.net uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By using this site you agree to Privacy Policy