On Sunday, voters in Hong Kong turned out in record numbers to elect a new generation of young pro-democracy activists to the territory’s Legislative Council in the first major election since the 2014 Umbrella Movement, when hundreds of thousands took to the streets to protest Beijing’s interference in the city’s politics. Of the pro-democracy candidates elected over the weekend, a number of them are outspoken supporters of greater independence and self-determination for Hong Kong. Those who were less radical outperformed the more “militant” candidates,
They may all be identified as localists advocating self-determination for Hong Kong, but those advocating peaceful means have performed better in the Legislative Council elections than those taking a “militant” approach.
Of the two dozen localist candidates, those who call for “democratic self-determination” have emerged as the big winners.
They include “king of votes” Eddie Chu Hoi-dick, Occupy Central student leader Nathan Law Kwun-chung and university lecturer Lau Siu-lai. The three, running in different constituencies, bagged a total of 173,122 votes.
The trio shared a similar vision and would work together to push certain issues in Legco, Lau said. [Source]
The following are profiles of some of the youngest lawmakers to win seats in Sunday’s election. From BBC:
Nathan Law is the most high-profile of the pro-democracy names to win a seat – and will become the youngest lawmaker in Hong Kong.
The 23-year-old student activist and former Occupy protest leader is a co-founder of the Demosisto political party, which calls for HK’s right to self-determination.
[…] Sixtus “Baggio” Leung, 30, is a candidate for the new Youngspiration party and is known to have openly supported independence.
Youngspiration has a so-called “localist” platform; defiantly pro-Hong Kong and against immigrants and tourists from China.
[…] Yau Wai-ching is also with Youngspiration – the 25-year-old emerged as a shock winner, edging out a veteran pro-democracy lawmaker.
One of the more prominent members of Youngspiration, she ran in local district council elections last November, just one year after the umbrella movement in Hong Kong inspired her to enter politics and to campaign for Hong Kong’s independence. [Source]
At Al Jazeera, Priyanka Gupta spoke to Nathan Law about his campaign and his plans for the road ahead:
Al Jazeera: Tell us about your campaign and why you think you won?(...)
Read the rest of Struggle Over HK’s Identity to Continue After Election (734 words)
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Post tags: Hong Kong democracy, hong kong elections, hong kong protests, legco, Occupy Central
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