Integration with mainland China and boosting Hong Kong’s sluggish economy have dominated the manifestos of candidates contesting functional and Election Committee constituencies in the Legislative Council election, while those running for directly elected seats have prioritised livelihood concerns, the Post has found.
A check by the Post of all 161 candidates’ manifestos on the government’s election website also found that only 38 of them, or 23 per cent, provided English versions.
Of the 161 hopefuls competing in the December 7 poll, 60 are contesting the 30 seats in the sector-based functional constituencies, while another 50 are vying for the 40 seats in the Election Committee constituency.
Representatives for the functional and Election Committee constituencies are chosen by a small circle of voters within their respective sectors instead of the general public.
A review of manifestos for the 110 candidates competing in both constituency types shows they have largely focused on the economy, innovation and technology, and integration into national development.
Almost half of them also devised plans to boost the city’s sluggish economy.
Nearly 40 per cent pledged to advance Hong Kong’s integration into national development and the Greater Bay Area, as well as to enhance the city’s roles in finance, trade and other areas as outlined by Beijing.
Thirteen referenced China’s 15th five-year plan, 12 pledged to safeguard national security, and 10 vowed to foster patriotism.
A government-run forum for Election Committee constituency candidates on Sunday also highlighted their core policies, with many of the 50 contenders calling for Hong Kong’s deeper integration with national development and aligning with the policy blueprint guiding the mainland’s development between 2026 and 2030.
The three-hour forum saw no interaction between candidates, who took turns to present their views.
The trends contrast with the manifestos of the 51 candidates standing in the 10 geographical constituencies for 20 seats.
Only two of those eyeing directly elected seats highlighted national security, and none touched on patriotism or the five-year plan, with most of those candidates focusing on livelihood issues.
About 40 per cent cited transport policies such as expediting railway projects and improving local connectivity, compared with fewer than 10 per cent in the functional and Election Committee constituencies.
Thirty per cent addressed labour, housing and healthcare issues, including calls to relaunch a scheme allowing public housing tenants to buy their homes and to review the labour importation scheme.
In contrast, only around 10 per cent or less of the functional and Election Committee constituency candidates raised these topics.
No candidates mentioned democracy or political reform, unlike the 2021 election, when universal suffrage was still on the agenda among some of the 15 non-pro-establishment figures who ran. No opposition candidates signed up for this year’s poll.
Political scientist John Burns, an emeritus professor at the University of Hong Kong, said candidates running for directly elected seats tend to focus on long-standing concerns such as transport and labour issues.
He added that the election platforms of the candidates running in the functional constituencies appeared to have addressed Beijing’s call for lawmakers to abandon sectoral interests and advocate for the overall public good, while the aspirants running in the Election Committee constituency also reflected the central government’s priorities.
Lau Siu-kai, a consultant for the semi-official Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies think tank, said functional and Election Committee constituency candidates’ manifestos echoed Beijing’s expectations that they should look beyond local issues and consider national and international perspectives.
“The central government is very keen for lawmakers to focus on Hong Kong’s economic transformation, the 15th five-year plan, the development of the Greater Bay Area, and Hong Kong’s integration into national development,” Lau said.
“Beijing hopes a significant portion of lawmakers possess expertise in these areas to offer sound recommendations and to demonstrate a stronger supervisory role.”
But Lau advised candidates to be more specific in their election platforms and position themselves as experts in those fields “to stand out and gain attention”.
Meanwhile, the Post also found that only 38 of the 161 hopefuls had English versions of their pledges in the manifestos, which were set to be mailed to all eligible voters with the poll information cards.
Among them, 11 are running in geographical constituencies, 15 in functional constituencies and 12 in the Election Committee constituency.
Some provided only English slogans in their manifestos, or attached QR codes or links that directed voters to the digital versions of English platforms. Some of them also distributed English leaflets separately.
In the Kowloon West constituency, which covers Yau Tsim Mong, the district with the city’s highest ethnic minority population, all five candidates failed to provide English manifestos.
Incumbent lawmaker Vincent Cheng Wing-shun, of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, said he could have included more detailed English information, but stressed that he had distributed English leaflets and organised events targeting ethnic minority groups.
Another Kowloon West incumbent, Leung Man-kwong, said that 90 per cent of his electors were Chinese speakers and stressed that he had set up a campaign team composed of people from ethnic minority backgrounds to help engage with their communities.
Jeffrey Pong Chiu-fai of the Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong cited time constraints and pledged to mail a detailed manifesto, with an English version, to all households.
The other two candidates, district councillor Haywood Guan Weixi and Alice Lau Oi-sze, chief executive of charity group Lok Sin Tong Benevolent Society, Kowloon, did not respond to the Post’s inquiries.
Burns expressed disappointment over the trend, noting that while voters could readily translate Chinese platforms on their devices, it still sent the message that non-Chinese speakers were less engaged in the citywide poll.
“I would have expected more in a place where English is also an official language,” Burns said. “If they did [provide English manifestos], it would help to boost the turnout among ethnic minority voters. But it appears that they are not very interested in that.” -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
