In scenes reminiscent of the end of The Wizard of Oz, jubilant Hongkongers gathered in Tuen Mun last night to cheer the loss of renowned non-doctor and pro-Beijing firebrand Junius Ho in yesterday’s district council elections, which saw pro-dems make astonishing gains.
Junius Ho was defeated in his bid to be re-elected to the Lok Tsui constituency of the Yuen Long district council by the Democratic Party’s Lo Chun-yu by more than 1,200 votes.
Lo garnered 3,474 votes to Ho’s 2,278.
The moment when vote counting result was announced from Junius Ho’s constituency:
Ho: 2278
Lo Chun-yu: 3474Lo, representing the Democratic Party, won by nearly 1200 votes in Tuen Mun.
(watch till the end for happy faces) pic.twitter.com/M8mk8KYah8
— Kinling Lo 盧建靈 (@kinlinglo) November 24, 2019
After news of Ho’s defeat spread, a crowd of people began to cheer.
Some popped bottles of champagne in celebration while others made do with bottles of beer.
https://twitter.com/CraigChoy/status/1198660411530383361
Champagne for celebrating Junius Ho lost the seat #HKDCElection pic.twitter.com/Gad73werp9
— Galileo Cheng (@galileocheng) November 24, 2019
Others even started chanting “Ho’s finished,” which in Cantonese is pronounced “Ho yi yuen” — a stinging homophone for “councillor Ho.”
Ho (finished) – pun in Cantonese for Councilor Ho #HKDCElection pic.twitter.com/kNwHyzhUrx
— Galileo Cheng (@galileocheng) November 24, 2019
Ho is arguably the most reviled figure in the eyes of the city’s pro-democracy protesters, with the possible exception of Chief Executive Carrie Lam herself.
Long known for gleefully courting controversy, Ho’s already substantial infamy skyrocketed after he was filmed glad-handing men believed to have taken part in the July 21 mob attack on protesters, journalists, and commuters at Yuen Long MTR station.
The vitriol directed at Ho, however, took a turn for the physical when he stabbed while canvassing in Tuen Mun earlier this month. The assailant was quickly subdued, and Ho wasn’t badly injured in the attack, and only required stitches. The suspect has been charged with attempted murder, and due to have his case heard in court on Feb. 3.
Despite his loss in the district elections, Ho remains a lawmaker.
Meanwhile, with returns appearing to overwhelmingly favor pro-dems, Ho was not the only high-profile candidate on the pro-Beijing side to suffer a stunning defeat.
Michael Tien, a moderate voice within the pro-Beijing camp, also lost his seat on Tsuen Wan district council. Reacting to news of his defeat, Tien said he “respect[ed] the electorate’s decision,” the SCMP reports, adding that the vote showed “young people are no longer insensitive to politics,” and that the government should listen to youths’ concerns.
Alice Mak, of the Federation of Trade Unions, was also among the pro-Beijing losers, and was quick to blame pro-establishmentarians’ heavy losses on Chief Executive Carrie Lam .
“The government’s poor governance has given rise to many public grievances,” she said in a press conference. “In the election campaign, pro-government candidates have been unfairly treated. This is a very important reason.”
Holden Chow, a lawmaker from the biggest pro-Beijing party, the DAB, also lost his district council seat on the Islands district council.
Chow was one of the lawmakers to hold a “district councillor super seat,” a functional constituency made up of lawmakers who are also district councillors. Chow losing his district council seat means he cannot run for re-election as a lawmaker via the super seat. If he wants to run in the upcoming Legislative Council elections in 2020, he will have to do so the hard way, through a geographical constituency.
Prominent pro-dems to win, meanwhile, included lawmaker Roy Kwong; Kelvin Lam, who ran as a stand-in following the disqualification of pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong; and Andrew Chiu, who had his ear bitten off during an attack on pro-democracy protesters in Tai Koo Shing.
Prominent pro-dem figure and former lawmaker Leung “Long Hair” Kwok-hung, however, wasn’t so lucky. DAB Chairwoman Starry Lee managed fend off Leung’s challenge in the Kowloon City district council.
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