The inaugural sessions of an unprecedented lineup of 39 election forums run by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government opened in the New Territories South West and New Territories North East constituencies on Tuesday, with plans to boost the local economy and improve livelihoods topping candidates’ respective platforms.

This follows the government’s confirming the eligibility of all 161 nominees bidding to run in Dec 7’s poll to sit on the SAR’s eighth Legislative Council.

From the pool of candidates, 51 of them will go head-to-head for 20 directly elected seats that have two per geographical constituency across the city; 60 hopefuls will vie for 30 functional constituency seats, while the other 50 will vie for the 40-member Election Committee seats.

Designed to cover all electoral fronts, the forums — themed “Patriots Collaborate for Good Governance” — bring contenders and voters together for a direct, structured exchange, featuring policy presentations, question-and-answer sessions, and policy debates that allow candidates to articulate and analyze their political platforms, core concerns, and electoral pledges.

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Starting early Tuesday morning, the first of such forums, at the Tsuen Wan Town Hall, saw five female contenders from the district running in the New Territories South West geographical constituency — Chan Wing-yan from the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (FTU), Kwok Fu-yung and Lo Yuen-ting from the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), Cheung Man-ka from the New People’s Party (NPP), and Mok Yee-ki of the Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong (BPA).

Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang Kwok-wai said the candidates faced an “outpouring” public turnout and a “bustling” mood.

The debate of the morning 90-minute forum zeroed in on key challenges of local development that candidates identified and policy ideas for them to work on.

Candidates Lo and Mok both singled out housing shortages as one of their primary concerns, whereas their counterparts, Kwok and Cheung, emphasized the need for enhanced transportation infrastructure. Chan, meanwhile, pointed to the prevalence of vacant commercial properties as a central issue.

They also addressed issues of community-based medical services and local tourism.

For the forum covering the New Territories North East constituency, excitement started mounting from around 3:30 pm at the Tung Cheong Street Sports Centre — a full hour before the event commenced — with the venue drawing crowds of eager supporters of all ages, who formed orderly groups chanting campaign slogans in a display of high spirits.

Five candidates of the constituency attended the afternoon’s forum: the DAB’s Chan Hak-kan, the FTU’s Ku Wai-ping, the NPP’s Lee Tsz-king, the BPA’s Tang Siu-fung, and unaffiliated Wong Wing-ho.

Candidates outlined a wide range of policy priorities during the afternoon’s forum, with Chan highlighting youth employment and primary healthcare, Lee focusing on transportation upgrades and international exchanges, Wong on healthcare affordability, Ku on community services, and Tang on economic redevelopment.

A debate on economic growth through tourism and innovation saw candidates largely united on raising ideas to tap more fully into the constituency’s natural attractions for an ecotourism boom, with several involved in collegial, direct exchanges.

Tsang said the forum’s goal was to provide space for voters to learn and engage with candidates’ respective political platforms ahead of the elections, thereby facilitating informed choices on polling day. The authorities will refine the process based on experience from these initial sessions to enhance engagement, as well as a safe and orderly arrangement, he added.

Also in a drive to encourage broader electoral participation, Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han announced on Tuesday that the SAR government will distribute a one-time grant of HK$20,000 ($2,570) to each district support center serving elderly and disabled residents, earmarked for funding election-related educational initiatives ahead of the poll and practical voting-day assistance measures.

The move, announced in a social media post from Sun, was built and expanded on in similar measures taken during Hong Kong’s 2023 District Council election.

On polling day, centers across Hong Kong will deploy dedicated transportation and staff assistance to help elderly and disabled voters, along with their caregivers, reach designated polling stations effectively, Sun said.

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Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau Ying-wa, alongside his deputy, Bernard Chan Pak-li, also met with representatives from Hong Kong’s major chambers of commerce and business organizations on Tuesday, urging business leaders to leverage their networks to call on their members and affiliated groups to actively support and partake in the upcoming LegCo election.

Many businesses have introduced feasible, flexible arrangements to ensure employees can conveniently cast their votes on Dec 7, the government said in a social media post.

Similar forums will continue through the end of this month, with sessions for the New Territories North and the New Territories North West constituencies slated for today, and the remainder of the series to be held daily in the coming weeks.

Contact the writer at wanqing@chinadailyhk.com