Tuen Mun Lok Tsui is one of the most competitive districts in this year’s District Council election. Six candidates from different political backgrounds are fighting for one seat.
Albert Ho Chun-yan from the Democratic Party is fighting for his fifth win in the district. Compared with previous elections, he says he faces a lot of pressure this year, but the radical democrats are not attacking him as much.
“Radical democrats targeted me for supporting the political reform package in 2012. But this year, we opposed the fake political reform package and took to the streets to gain support after the Umbrella Movement. They don’t have as much of a case against us.”
“I think they just want to promote their vision and to increase their candidates’ popularity, so their opposition will have less of an impact.”
Cheng Chun-Tai from Civic Passion says his radical approach is just a way to achieve his political goal. He is optimistic about his chances of winning.
“My radical strategy is just a means to an end. I’m against the Communist Party and against Hong Kong becoming more like the Mainland. I think I’ll win.”
Instead of a radical approach, independent candidate Cheung Wing-wai offers a middle-of-the-road for voters and he is also optimistic about his chances.
“Unlike the other candidates, I don’t have any political baggage and can implement policies that will benefit residents.”
Another independent candidate Ho Kwan-yiu says he is a liberal and open-minded pro-establishment supporter.
“In Hong Kong, we all live and work under the system here. As a liberal person, I will work hard within the system, but when I see injustice, I’ll certainly speak out.”
While candidates are handing out leaflets and yelling slogans, retired civil servant Shum Kam-tim, who lost to Ho chun-yan by around a hundred votes in the previous election, is not promoting his campaign today.
“It is meaningless to shout slogans now. I would rather keep a low profile and be pragmatic. If the voters decide to vote for you, they will not be affected by the promotion.”
Yuen Wai-chung is the only candidate who lives in the district. He decided to join because he says Ho Chun-yan is not doing his job well. It is his fourth time running in the election and he says the turnout will be low this year.
“I was passing out leaflets at the mall in Richland Garden and the people didn’t really want them. Some of them were frowning, others might be annoyed, plus there’s all the talk of scandals….”
Lok Tsui has around 7,700 registered voters in total and 56.3% of them actually vote.
