CONFIDENTIAL
130576
MDLIAN 9610
FORMER
WHO
CONSTITUENCIES. TWO CANDIDATES SUPPORTED BY MARTIN LEE WON
CONVINCINGLY: THEY ARE UNIONIST, RONALD CHOW MEI-TAK (NEW HEALTH CARE ELECTORAL DIVISION) AND DR EDWARD LEONG CHE-HONG (MEDICAL
ELECTORAL DIVISION), THE LATTER DEFEATING CHIU HIN-KWONG. INCUMBENT AND EXCO MEMBER. J.D. MCGREGOR DEFEATED VERONICA WU, WAS FIELDED BY THE BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL GROUP OF BLCC MEMBERS
(THE GROUP OF 88), IN THE FIRST COMMERCIAL ELECTORAL DIVISION. MCGREGOR, A FORMER SENIOR CIVIL SERVANT AND RECENTLY RETIRED EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE HK GENERAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, IS NOT AFFILIATED TO ANY GROUP BUT HAS OPENLY ADMITTED A TENDENCY TOWARDS MARTIN LEE'S VIEWS. IN THE NEW ACCOUNTANCY ELECTORAL DIVISION, THE WINNER, WONG HONG-YUEN, IS A MEMBER OF THE GROUP OF 88. THE TEN UNOPPOSED CANDIDATES ARE ALL FORMER INCUMBENTS.
5. THE FOLLOWING POINTS ARE OF INTEREST:
(A) THE NEWLY ELECTED MEMBERS (INCLUDING FORMER INCUMBENTS RETURNED
IN CONTESTED ELECTIONS) HAVE AN AVERAGE AGE OF 48. THE OVERALL AVERAGE AGE OF THE 26 ELECTED MEMBERS IS 50.5 YEARS
(B) 20 OF THE 24 FORMER ELECTED MEMBERS STOOD FOR RE-ELECTION.
TWELVE WERE RETURNED UNCONTESTED, THREE WERE RE-ELECTED AND FIVE WERE DEFEATED (FOUR IN THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE AND ONE IN THE
FUNCTIONAL CONSTITUENCIES)
(C) THE CLOSEST WINNING MARGIN WAS IN THE HK ISLAND EAST CONSTITUENCY, WHERE CHAN YING-LUN DEFEATED DESMOND LEE BY ONE VOTE.
MEDIA COVERAGE AND COMMENTARIES
6. THE ELECTIONS WERE GIVEN MASSIVE COVERAGE BY THE MEDIA YESTERDAY AND TODAY. MOST OF TODAY'S PAPERS NOTED IN PROMINENT
HEADLINES THE DEFEAT OF THE LIBERALS AND PREDICTED A WEAKENING OF THE
LIBERAL CAMP'S VOICE IN LEGCO. SOME PAPERS SAW THE RESULTS AS A
FURTHER STIMULANT TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF POLITICAL GROUPS AS CANDIDATES WITH ALLIES TENDED TO DO BETTER THAN LONERS. SOME ALSO
NOTED THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE POWER BASE OF THE RURAL ELEMENTS.
·
7 A NUMBER OF PAPERS COMMENTED THAT THE VOTER TURNOUT RATE HAD
DROPPED. SOME SAID THE PUBLIC HAD AGAIN BEEN SHOWN TO BE POLITICALLY APATHETIC, AND A WRITER IN TA KUNG PAO WONDERED WHETHER SATISFACTORY RESULTS WOULD BE ACHIEVED IF LARGE-SCALE POPULAR
ELECTIONS WERE BROUGHT IN NOW.
8. CRITICISM OF THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE SYSTEM WAS VOICED BY MANY
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