[Will Beijing allow me to run for office?]
A lot of Democratic candidates who were previously accepted by the government are allowed to run for office in the upcoming district council election on Nov 24, except for myself. That's the political censorship.
A lot of Democratic candidates who were previously accepted by the government are allowed to run for office in the upcoming district council election on Nov 24, except for myself. That's the political censorship.
1/ Returning Officer (Electoral officer) who is responsible for vetting my candidacy, in the past, was no more than checking the doc and verifying the identity. But since 2016, returning officers have often disqualified candidates. DQ=disqualified.
2/ They disqualified on the grounds that they would not uphold the Basic Law and pledge allegiance to the Hong Kong SAR. @chowtingagnes, my fellow member of @demosisto, had also been disqualified from running for election before.
3/ 2 weeks ago, I had received 2 letters from the Returning Officer of my constituency, Dorothy Ma, asking me to “confirm” my political stance, attempting to politically screen me out of the ballot.
4/ It is against my will to participate in the game of political censorship but I had replied promptly, explaining why the officer should not politically screen candidates, and explain my own political stance. Since then, the situation had stepped up in the weirdest way possible.
5/ For over a week, I have received nothing from Ma, not even a notice that I have been banned from the election. Soon, as all other candidates are confirmed, I become the only person in Hong Kong with unconfirmed candidacy. Ma has since then disappeared.
6/ The wait was dreadful to me & my team. On Thur, I visited Ma’s office to ask her whether any progress had been made in confirming my candidacy, but Ma wasn't present. 2 hours later, the election commission issued a statement to claim that Ma was on leave due to sickness.
7/ Gov didn't follow typical procedures in appointing an acting officer. Instead of appointing an assistant officer under Ma or officer nearby, gov decided to let an electoral officer in Kowloon, where is another region cross the harbour, to take up the role left vacant by Ma.
8/ It can never be more suspicious that Beijing has already intervened, and give humongous political pressure to both the HK government and the officers. The election procedures of my constituency, and my constituency only, has been put on hold.
9/ As I finished writing this column, I received a third inquiry from the new electoral officer Mrs.Aron, whose decision will affect not only myself but the legitimacy of the entire election, the administration and the values represented under One Country Two Systems.
10/ Hong Kong is already under the rule of authoritarian Beijing. I well understood that I might not be able to run for the election, but I will not cease to speak up for what I stand for. The world is watching. HKGOV must stop political screening.
