Kowloon West by-election, 2018

Kowloon West by-election, 2018
25 November 2018 (2018-11-25)

 
Candidate Chan Hoi-yan Frederick Fung Lee Cheuk-yan
Party Nonpartisan Nonpartisan Labour
Alliance Pro-Beijing N/A Pro-democracy
Incumbent Legislative Councillor

Lau Siu-lai (disqualified)
Nonpartisan

The 2018 Kowloon West by-election is scheduled for 25 November 2018 after the incumbent pro-democracy Legislative Councillor Lau Siu-lai of Kowloon West was disqualified from the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo) over the oath-taking controversy resulted in the disqualifications of the six pro-democracy and localist legislators.[1] It follows the by-election of four other vacated seats on 11 March 2018.

Background

Lau Siu-lai, the incumbent legislator disqualified by the court over the oath-taking controversy.

In the 2016 Legislative Council election, the Kowloon West returned six members to the Legislative Council (LegCo), with college lecturer Lau Siu-lai being elected under the banner of "democratic self-determination".

On 12 October 2016 the inaugural meeting of the LegCo, Lau and other legislators-elect used the oath-taking ceremony as a platform to protest. After Yau Wai-ching and Sixtus Leung was controversially disqualified by the court following the interpretation of the Article 104 of the Basic Law of Hong Kong by the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC), Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen lodged another judicial review against Lau Siu-lai, as well as Nathan Law, Leung Kwok-hung and Yiu Chung-yim who also added words into or changed their tones when reading the oaths during the ceremony.[2] As a result, the High Court ruled the four pro-democracy legislators were to lose their seats on 14 July 2017.[3]

The by-election of the Hong Kong Island, New Territories East, Architectural, Surveying, Planning and Landscape as well as Yau Wai-ching's Kowloon West seats was held on 11 March 2018. Nevertheless, the by-elections of the Lau Siu-lai's Kowloon West and Leung Kwok-hung's New Territories East seats were not held as the duo were seeking for appeal, partly because they hoped to avoid holding the by-election for two seats in a single constituency which would favour the weaker pro-Beijing candidate. However in the March Kowloon West by-election, the pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) candidate Vincent Cheng made an upset victory by defeating pro-democrat Yiu Chung-yim.

On 29 May 2018, Lau decided not to retract her appeal against her disqualification due to the costly legal fees and time.[4] On 26 June, the Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC) announced the by-election for Lau's seat to be held on 25 November 2018.[1]

Candidates

Nominated

  • Chan Hoi-yan, former journalist and political assistant to Secretary for Food and Health Ko Wing-man runs as an independent candidate supported by the pro-Beijing camp after the latter announced he would not run in the by-election[5][6]
  • Frederick Fung Kin-kee, former veteran legislator for Kowloon West and candidate for the pro-democracy primary of the March by-election has announced his candidacy.[7] He criticised the pro-democracy camp for monopolising the candidate selection process by not holding a primary earlier and said he would bow out of the race if Lau Siu-lai is confirmed as the candidate.[6]
  • Lee Cheuk-yan, trade unionist and former veteran legislator of the Labour Party acted as a "plan B" candidate in case the candidacy of Lau Siu-lai, ousted legislator in the oath-taking controversy, was invalidated.[8][9] Lee submitted his nomination on 12 October hours before Lau was noticed that her candidacy was invalid.[10]

Invalidated

  • Lau Siu-lai, ousted legislator in the oath-taking controversy joined the Labour Party ahead of the election and has announced her candidacy as the joint candidate of the camp.[8][11] Her candidacy was invalidated on 12 October by Returning Officer Franco Kwok Wai-fun on the basis of Lau previous advocacy of Hong Kong’s self-determination, which showed she had no intention of upholding the Basic Law and pledging allegiance to Hong Kong as a special administrative region of China.[12]

Campaign

In late August, a 25-metre billboard of Chan Hoi-yan as a "health ambassador" outside Cross-Harbour Tunnel in Hung Hom funded by pro-Beijing Kowloon Federation of Associations (KFA) with an estimated cost of more than HK$248,000 sparked controversy the election rules dictate that candidates are only allowed to spend a maximum of HK$1.82 million on expenses while Chan had not yet declared herself as a candidate.[13]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "選管會：11月25日舉行立法會九龍西補選". 2018-06-26.
  2. ↑ "Hong Kong gov't lodges legal challenges to eject four more pro-democracy lawmakers from legislature". Hong Kong Free Press. 2 December 2016.
  3. ↑ "Hong Kong lawmaker disqualification ruling 'opens huge floodgate', lawyers say". South China Morning Post. 15 July 2017.
  4. ↑ "Former lawmaker Lau Siu-lai drops appeal against her disqualification to trigger by-election". Hong Kong Free Press. 29 May 2018.
  5. ↑ "【九西補選】高永文宣布不參選　陳凱欣參選與否都全力支持". HK01. 2018-08-03.
  6. 1 2 "Veteran Hong Kong lawmaker Frederick Fung breaks ranks to contest Kowloon West by-election, threatening pan-dems' bid to regain veto power in Legco". South China Morning Post. 2 October 2018.
  7. ↑ "Ousted Hong Kong lawmaker says pro-democracy groups in city forming alliance to help her as she considers Legco comeback". South China Morning Post. 7 September 2018.
  8. 1 2 "Ousted lawmaker Lau Siu-lai joins pro-democracy Labour Party ahead of legislative by-election". Hong Kong Free Press. 29 June 2018.
  9. ↑ "Ousted pro-democracy Hong Kong lawmaker Lau Siu-lai announces bid to return to the Legislative Council in by-election". South China Morning Post. 20 September 2018.
  10. ↑ "Ousted lawmaker Lau Siu-lai to run in November's Legislative Council by-election". Hong Kong Free Press. 20 September 2018.
  11. ↑ "Ousted pro-democracy Hong Kong lawmaker Lau Siu-lai announces bid to return to the Legislative Council in by-election". South China Morning Post. 20 September 2018.
  12. ↑ "Ousted pro-democracy Hong Kong lawmaker Lau Siu-lai barred from Kowloon West Legislative Council by-election". South China Morning Post. 12 October 2018.
  13. ↑ "Billboard outside Hong Kong tunnel sparks controversy in run-up to Legislative Council by-election". South China Morning Post. 27 August 2018.
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