Members of Hong Kong’s League of Social Democrats arrested over protest against ‘patriots’ election as polls open
Hong Kong Free Press
Hong Kong police have arrested three members of pro-democracy party the League of Social Democrats (LSD), who were on their way to protest the city’s “patriots-only” District Council election.
The group’s chairperson Chan Po-ying and vice-chairs Dickson Chow and Yu Wai-pan were apprehended in Central on Sunday morning, LSD member Raphael Wong told HKFP. The reason for the arrests was unclear, Wong said, adding he was still waiting to hear from their lawyers.
The three activists were heading to protest outside a polling station in the affluent Central neighbourhood of Mid-Levels, where Chief Executive John Lee was slated to cast his vote. The party had informed reporters that they would hold a demonstration at 8.45 am.
HKFP has reached out to the police for details and comment. Wong said the trio was taken to the Central Police District Headquarters.
Polls opened on Sunday for Hong Kong’s first District Council election since the government overhauled the electoral system, introducing changes that effectively made it impossible for the opposition to run. There are no opposition candidates contending in the elections, as they failed to obtain the required nominations from government-appointed committees.
Speaking to HKFP on the phone, Wong called it a “natural thing” to protest on an election day. “Supposedly, this election is for Hong Kong people to express their views. Yet, [the authorities] won’t allow a protest in which people express their views,” he said in Cantonese.
Wong added that Sunday was Human Rights Day, an occasion observed by members of the United Nations.
He also said the three LSD members had thought arrest a possibility, after veteran activist Koo Sze-yiu was apprehended under the sedition law on Friday on suspicion of attempting or preparing to do an act with seditious intention. Before his arrest, Koo had told reporters that he planned to protest outside the Registration and Electoral Office, the government department that oversees elections.
The LSD is one of the last remaining voices in Hong Kong’s political opposition sphere, occasionally holding street booths and holding small-scale protests outside the government headquarters. Dozens of pro-democracy groups have disbanded in the wake of the national security law, which Beijing imposed following months of protests and unrest in 2019.
Chief Executive John Lee casts vote
A number of police officers were stationed outside a polling station at Raimondi College in Mid-Levels after it opened at 8.30 am, where the LSD had planned to protest and where Lee, the city’s leader, would later cast his vote.
Speaking to reporters after submitting his ballot paper, Lee said the voting process was “smooth, fast and orderly.”
“Following the reform, those selected [for the District Council] will work towards Hong Kong’s interests and will not go against Hong Kong and the country’s interests,” he said in Cantonese.
During the question and answer session with reporters, Lee said that district councillors in the past advocated Hong Kong independence and endangered national security, without citing evidence.
Pro-democracy candidates swept the District Council elections in 2019, which were held during the height of the anti-extradition protests and unrest.
“We hope everybody treasures the vote in their hands and vote enthusiastically,” Lee said.
As of 10.30 am, over 270,000 people had cast their vote in the geographic elections, representing a voter turnout rate of 6.24 per cent.
First ‘patriots-only’ poll
Plans to overhaul the District Council elections were unveiled in May 2023 to ensure only “patriots” were elected, following a pro-democracy landslide at the last polls in 2019.
The number of seats chosen democratically by the public were slashed from 452 to 88 – reducing the power of public votes to a fifth. The rest are to be chosen by the city’s leader and government-appointed committees.
Constituency boundaries were redrawn, the opposition were shut out, voting hours were slashed by an hour, and each local council is to be chaired by a government official, similar to colonial-era arrangements. All candidates undergo national security vetting to ensure patriotism.
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