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The coming Legislative Council election has thrown up some unexpected links, with several Hong Kong tycoons nominating candidates who are non-core establishment or union representatives, who in turn have backed the real estate sector. A check of nomination forms submitted by all 161 Legco hopefuls found that top figures from major developers had taken different approaches in naming aspirants running in the December 7 poll, the second under Beijing’s “patriots-only” electoral overhaul. New World Development executive director Sonia Cheng Chi-man nominated Tsang Chi-man and So Pak-tsan – vice-president and vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (FTU) respectively. Cheng also nominated Michael Liu Tsz-chung of the New People’s Party. FTU president Stanley Ng Chau-pei and Lee Kwong-yu, another federation vice-chairman, nominated Augustine Wong Ho-ming, executive director of Henderson Land Group, who is running in the real estate and construction functional constituency. Explaining the unusual mutual support between sectors that were normally at odds over labour issues, FTU chairman Kingsley Wong Kwok said on Friday that candidates were required to secure nominations from the business sector, one of the five segments of the 1,500-member Election Committee, to enter the revamped race. Such support from enterprises could increase their chances of winning, he added. “We may disagree on some issues, but we can cooperate on others,” Wong said, pledging to remain firm on labour rights. Two candidates running for election in the geographical constituencies and not from a traditional pro-establishment party – both from the think tank PoD Research Institute, formerly known as Path of Democracy – were also found to have received developers’ support. Regal Hotels International vice-chairman Poman Lo nominated Allan Wong Wing-ho, while Leng Yen-thean, executive director of Wharf Holdings, backed Jeffrey Chan Chun-hung. Other tycoons who nominated Legco hopefuls included Sun Hung Kai Properties executive directors Adam Kwok Kai-fai and Christopher Kwok Kai-wang, respectively backing barrister Wu Yingpeng and incumbent lawmaker Peter Douglas Koon Ho-ming. The chairmen of Henderson Land, brothers Peter Lee Ka-kit and Martin Lee Ka-shing, both nominated the company’s executive director, Augustine Wong. But members of tycoon Li Ka-shing’s family, the city’s wealthiest, Victor Li Tzar-kuoi, chairman of CK Asset Holdings, and Richard Li Tzar-kai, chairman of Pacific Century Group, were among those who did not endorse any candidates. Mainland Chinese enterprises in Hong Kong, whose representatives sit in the Election Committee’s commercial (third) sector, concentrated their nominations among specific candidates. Of the 51 nominations from the sector’s 17 members, 14 – nearly 30 per cent – went to 11 candidates from the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), the city’s biggest political party. Major groups such as the FTU, Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee’s New People’s Party and the Liberal Party received only eight nominations altogether from the sector. The remaining nominations mostly went to independent candidates with mainland enterprise backgrounds. In other interesting twists, members of major political parties nominated opponents. These included Ip and party member Judy Chan Kapui nominating Peter Koon Ho-ming and Chu Lap-lai in the Election Committee constituency, respectively, rather than endorsing their colleague Adrian Pedro Ho King-hong. Ho was instead backed by outgoing DAB lawmakers Edward Leung Hei and Stanley Li Sai-wing. In the commercial (third) functional constituency, Leung nominated incumbent Erik Yim Kong, who ran against DAB candidate Cheung Ki-tang. DAB chairman Gary Chan Hak-kan said the party had instructed its leadership to refrain from nominating opponents only in geographical constituencies, adding that it welcomed more outstanding and capable residents to run for office. Ip said political parties nominating their opponents made no odds. “Nominating a person does not mean that I will vote for him or her,” she said. “It is a separate matter from nomination.” Lau Siu-kai, a consultant for the semi-official Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies think tank, said that the “patriots-only” electoral system stressed unity and all sectors had to prioritise Hong Kong’s overall interests. “[Various parties] must handle differences in a peaceful and friendly manner and consider the big picture, to achieve mutual benefits and ‘win-win’ solutions,” Lau said. “All sectors must compromise to ensure everyone’s reasonable interests are accommodated.” Emeritus Professor John Burns of the University of Hong Kong said the phenomenon of parties nominating their opponents might reflect possible coordination among groups to intensify the race and boost voter turnout. Separately, a Post check found that at least 10 Election Committee members mistakenly nominated multiple candidates in the same sector. Under the revamped electoral system, a member can nominate one candidate each in the geographical, functional and Election Committee constituencies. Among them was outgoing DAB lawmaker Kennedy Wong Ying-ho, who nominated party colleagues Starry Lee Wai-king and Holden Chow Ho-ding, both running in geographical constituencies. Wong told the Post that he first nominated Chow, but was unaware of it when he signed a consent form to support Lee afterwards. “Both of them are my friends in the party. I am in touch with Lee’s office to check whether I can withdraw my nomination,” he said. The validity of duplicated nominations is determined by the sequence of registration and the priority filled in on the nomination form. Given all candidates involved received excessive nominations, their eligibility is expected to be unaffected. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Friday revealed that the government would hold election forums for every type of constituency starting next week, adding that the government panel that vetted candidates’ nominations would announce the results as soon as possible. Click here for the full list of the 161 hopefuls who have signed up for the race.
