Meet 5 of Hong Kong’s Newest Politicians

The pro-democracy camp’s stunning victory in citywide district elections means a younger class of political neophytes will soon take office.
By Austin Ramzy

Pro-democracy winning candidates outside the campus of Hong Kong Polytechnic University on Monday.

HONG KONG — Hong Kong’s district council election saw the pro-establishment camp have one of its biggest defeats since the territory returned to Chinese control 22 years ago, as dozens of seasoned politicians were replaced with a crop of newcomers, many of whom were inspired to run by the antigovernment protests.
The district councils are local advisory bodies that do not hold any lawmaking power, but the lopsided results were seen as a strong public endorsement of the continuing protest movement. Several newly elected district council members seized on the demands of the demonstrators as part of their campaign platforms, and seem eager to push their roles beyond the usual remit of neighborhood noise complaints and sanitation problems.
Here’s a look at five of the most interesting new district councilors and what they have to say:

Lucifer Siu
Mr. Siu, 40, embraced the image of a protester in his campaign. 

A campaign photo features him in a yellow hard hat, goggles and a gas mask with his fingers extended to represent the demands of the protest movement, including calling for an investigation into use of force by the police, amnesty for arrested protesters and expanded democracy.


𝕛𝕒𝕞𝕖𝕤 𝕘𝕣𝕚𝕗𝕗𝕚𝕥𝕙𝕤
✔@jgriffiths
· Nov 20, 2019
Replying to @jgriffiths
A couple of other observations: still very few ethnic minorities running (I counted three); lots of candidates talking about improving animal/pet provisions, particularly in public housing; still an amazing number of people sending in handwritten, barely legible flyers.



𝕛𝕒𝕞𝕖𝕤 𝕘𝕣𝕚𝕗𝕗𝕚𝕥𝕙𝕤
✔@jgriffiths
Lucifer Siu, standing in Mong Kok North, has perhaps the most "I'm a protester" flyer of all 1,090. By contrast, super anti-protest flyers in a minority, with Johnny Ip's in Tuen Mun being a rare example. Most focused on security, stability etc without direct mention of unrest.

117
7:34 AM - Nov 20, 2019

Mr. Siu said he ran for the sake of his 2-year-old daughter, but had not expected to win. 

“I am no super man, not a social worker, not someone who speaks out for the people,” he wrote on Facebook. 

“But I hope that others can stand up for themselves, and I want to create a platform to give others the platform to speak up.”

Jocelyn Chau
Ms. Chau, 23, who works as a relationship manager at a bank in North Point, was arrested in August while live-streaming a protest, but she was never charged. 

She subsequently received harassing phone calls and was shoved and punched in the head while campaigning in October, one of several candidates who was assaulted during the campaign.


Ray Chan
✔@ray_slowbeat
Jocelyn Chau is community organizer in #HongKong Eastern District's City Garden Ward. She was filming live for residents she serves, 2 cops turned back & pushed her down to the ground for filming them. She refused bail & was released without charges. She was treated for bruises.

233
1:31 PM - Aug 13, 2019 · Eastern District, Hong Kong

She condemned the authorities for failing to respond adequately to the violence surrounding the campaign. 

“We are innocent people who’ve been attacked,” she said.
Ms. Chau defeated Hui Ching On, 53, a financial consultant who had held the seat since 1999. 

HK01, a Hong Kong news outlet, reported that during the previous four years, Mr. Hui had only spoken for 80 seconds during district council meetings.

Jimmy Sham
Jimmy Sham, leader of the Civil Human Rights Front, an umbrella group of pro-democracy organizations, outside Hong Kong Polytechnic University on Monday.

Mr. Sham, 32, was another candidate who was assaulted during the campaign. 

He was attacked by a group of men with hammers last month and continues to use crutches to walk.
As a leader of the Civil Human Rights Front, an umbrella group of pro-democracy organizations, Mr. Sham helped organize several large, peaceful marches this summer. 

He was attacked previously, in August, on a day when the police announced they were banning plans for another march.
Ray Chan, a pro-democracy lawmaker who is gay, celebrated the victory of Mr. Sham, who is also gay, on a day that several establishment politicians who had opposed same-sex marriage and made homophobic comments had lost their district council races.
Mr. Sham said that his own victory in the district race reflected a broader yearning for civic freedoms. “We are trying to listen to the demands of the people and to fight for their rights,” he said.

Cathy Yau
Cathy Yau, a former police officer, on the streets of Hong Kong in September.

Public criticism of the police and the officers’ use of force have been animating issues of the protest movement. 

Few embodied the issue more than Ms. Yau, 36, who formerly served as a police officer but quit this year after more than a decade on the force.
“This year, I have decided to take off my uniform and gear, and stand together with Hong Kongers,” she said in announcing her campaign.
Ms. Yau defeated Yolanda Ng, who had held the seat since 2007 and ran uncontested four years ago.
“The Hong Kong police force has become a political tool,” Ms. Yau wrote last week, adding that “police brutality and indiscriminate arrests have clearly illustrated the inseparable relationship between politics and society.”

Chan Tsz-wai
With his handwritten candidate introduction, Mr. Chan, a 27-year-old student, showed he was a political novice with no powerful backing. 

But despite his inexperience, he defeated Chris Ip, 39, a prominent figure in the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, the largest pro-Beijing party.


Jeffie Lam
✔@jeffielam
One of the unthinkable of #HKDCelection is how this 27yo student, who handwrote his electoral message to voters, had defeated Chris Ip, a rising star in the biggest pro-Beijing party AND the *chairman* of the Yau Tsim Mong district council.
4,188
2:48 AM - Nov 25, 2019

Mr. Ip, who was the chairman of the Yau Tsim Mong district council, became a target of protesters in July after he blocked debate on the extradition bill that incited the protests this summer.

Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Forces Score Landslide Win

By William Gallo
Election winner candidate Kelvin Lam, right, and pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong, second right, wave to people and thank for their support, outside South Horizons Station in Hong Kong, Monday, Nov. 25, 2019.

HONG KONG - Hong Kong pro-democracy forces scored a sweeping victory in local elections Sunday that saw a record number of voters deliver a stunning rebuke to Beijing.
Opposition candidates won nearly 90 percent of contested seats, according to public broadcaster RTHK. 

The democrats will now control 17 of 18 district councils, after having previously controlled zero.
The vote was a major symbolic blow to pro-China forces that dominate Hong Kong politics, and the latest evidence of continued public support for a five-month-old pro-democracy movement that has become increasingly aggressive.
“Hong Kongers have spoken out, loud and clear. The international community must acknowledge that, almost six months in, public opinion has NOT turned against the movement,” student activist Joshua Wong said on Twitter.

Joshua Wong 黃之鋒
✔@joshuawongcf
This is historic. Early returns suggest a landslide victory for the opposition camp. Hong Kongers have spoken out, loud and clear. The international community must acknowledge that, almost six months in, public opinion has NOT turned against the movement. https://twitter.com/jeffreychngo/status/1198648055349727232 …Jeffrey Ngo 敖卓軒
✔@jeffreychngo
Replying to @jeffreychngo
The total number of votes cast today is over 2.94 million, with a final voter turnout of 71.2 percent, the highest ever in Hong Kong’s history. It was 58.28 percent in 2016 and 47.01 in 2015. Thank you, Hong Kongers!
4,154
6:34 PM - Nov 24, 2019

"This is a sweeping victory, far beyond people's expectations,” David Zweig, professor emeritus at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, said.
The vote will not significantly change the balance of power in Hong Kong’s quasi-democratic political system. 

District council members have no power to pass legislation; they deal mainly with hyperlocal issues, such as noise complaints and bus stop locations.
However, the district council vote is seen as one of the most reliable indicators of public opinion, since it is the only fully democratic election in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong's Beijing-friendly executive Carrie Lam issued a statement saying the government respects the results of the election, and that it would listen humbly to the opinions of the members of the public and reflect on them seriously.

Candidates from pro-Beijing political party bow to apologize for their defeat in the local district council election in Hong Kong, Monday, Nov. 25, 2019.

Massive turnout
Nearly 3 million people voted in the election -- a record high for Hong Kong, and more than double the turnout of the previous district council election in 2015.
Voters formed long lines that snaked around city blocks outside polling stations across the territory, many waiting more than an hour to vote.
“This amount of people I've never seen. There are so many people,” said Felix, who works in the real estate industry and voted in the central business district.
By nighttime, most of the long lines at voting stations had tapered off, but nearby sidewalks remained filled with candidates and their supporters who held signs and chanted slogans in an attempt to persuade passersby to cast last-minute votes.
“I’m tired, but I think it’s more important to fight,” said Elvis Yam, who waited in line for an hour to vote in the morning and then volunteered to hold a campaign sign for a pro-democracy candidate in the University District.
Police promised a heavy security presence at voting locations. 

But outside many polling stations, there was no visible police presence. 

At others, teams of riot police waited in nearby vans. 

There were no reports of major clashes.
Hong Kong has seen five months of pro-democracy protests. 

The protests have escalated in recent weeks, with smaller groups of hard-core protesters engaging in fierce clashes with police.
The vote shows that, despite the violence, Hong Kong society continues to support the push for democratic reforms, said Zweig, who heads Transnational China Consulting.
“If the government itself doesn’t respond in some significant way, you’re going to get your million man march again. You’re going to get people back on the streets,” he said.

Wider impact?
Even though district councils have little power, the vote could affect how the territory’s more influential Legislative Council and chief executive are selected in the future.
District councilors are able to select a small number of people to the 1,200-member election committee that chooses Hong Kong’s chief executive. 

They also have the ability to select or run for certain seats in the Legislative Council.

Supporters of pro-democracy candidate Angus Wong celebrate after he won in district council elections in Hong Kong, early Monday, Nov. 25, 2019.

“That’s a big deal,” said Emily Lau, a former Legislative Council member and prominent member of the pro-democracy camp. 

“Because of this constitutional linkage, it makes the significance of the district council much bigger than its powers show you.”
Hong Kong saw a major surge in voter registration, particularly among young people. 

Nearly 386,000 people have registered to vote in the past year, the most since at least 2003.
Many Hong Kongers are concerned about what they see as an erosion of the "one country, two systems" policy that Beijing has used to govern Hong Kong since it was returned by Britain in 1997.
China said it is committed to the “one country, two systems” principle, but has slammed the protesters as rioters. 

In some cases, Chinese state media have compared the protesters to the terror groups Taliban or Islamic State.
In an apparent response to the Hong Kong elections, the People’s Daily, a Communist Party-controlled paper, posted a video on Twitter documenting what it said was the U.S. history of intervention in foreign elections, including in Hong Kong.
Donald Trump has been inconsistent when talking about the protests, in some cases calling them riots and in other cases saying he supports them.
Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called for all sides to refrain from violence, but said the Hong Kong government “bears primary responsibility” for the conflict.