Three incumbent Hong Kong lawmakers running for reelection in September’s Legislative Council election urged residents on Wednesday to vote for constructive change so the city can start afresh.
Priscilla Leung Mei-fun, Vincent Cheng Wing-shun and Rebecca Chan Hoi-yan submitted their nomination forms, seeking to keep their seats representing the Kowloon West constituency.
The September election (is) a tough battle between stability and riots and a fight between construction and destruction
Priscilla Leung Mei-fun, barrister
The nomination period started Saturday and runs through July 31. Candidates will compete for 70 seats — 35 each from the geographical and functional constituencies.
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Leung, who has been a legislative councilor since 2008, described the September election as “a tough battle between stability and riots” and “a fight between construction and destruction”.
In a media briefing, Leung, from the Business and Professionals Alliance, vowed she and other candidates from pro-establishment parties will make concerted efforts to compete against the destructive forces in the race for the sake of the city’s stability and prosperity.
Over the past 12 years, Leung has seen reckless and damaging acts by the opposition camp in the legislature, including throwing bananas at the chief executive in the general chamber, filibustering, and resigning arbitrarily without considering the public interest.
Now the opposition camp even plans to paralyze the financial hub by vetoing all fiscal budgets, funding proposals and government bills if it wins a simple majority in the election.
“We will not let their evil plot succeed,” Leung said.
(From left) Rebecca Chan Hoi-yan, Priscilla Leung Meifun and Vincent Cheng Wing-shun meet the press as they submit their nomination forms for the upcoming Legislative Council election, July 22, 2020. (PARKER ZHENG / CHINA DAILY)
Leung also revealed her election manifestos, which include safeguarding the city’s rule of law, maintaining LegCo’s normal functions, and improving people’s livelihoods.
She stressed the city cannot move forward if LegCo cannot function normally.
“That’s why I call for voters to consider the public interest and not to cast your ballots for the destructive force in Hong Kong,” Leung said.
Also announcing his candidacy, Cheng, a member of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, said he will join with Leung and Chan to search for a way to lift Hong Kong out of its current crisis.
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To achieve that, Cheng stressed, the “one country, two systems” principle must be upheld, and a stable environment conducive for all industries must be secured.
Cheng also slammed the opposition camp for turning a blind eye to the violence and riots that seriously rocked Hong Kong last year, and said they helped radicals cover up their lawbreaking activities.
Chan, a member of LegCo, said Hong Kong cannot afford to come to a standstill again as the city has already been hard hit by violent protests, the LegCo impasses and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The destructive force will strive to win as many seats in the legislature as possible, Chan said.
Also on Wednesday, Kingsley Wong Kwok and Dennis Leung Tsz-wing, two candidates from the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, the city’s largest labor group, filed their nomination documents for the September race. They will run in the labor functional constituency.
According to the Registration and Electoral Office, as of Wednesday, a total of 62 candidates had submitted their nomination forms for five geographical constituencies and 29 functional constituencies.
As of 9 pm Wednesday, five other candidates — Lee On-kau, Sham Tse-kit, Claudia Mo Man-ching, Kalvin Ho Kai-ming and Sunny Cheung Kwan-yang— had also registered to run in the Kowloon West geographical constituency in the Sept 6 LegCo election.
Eleanor Huang contributed to this story.
