A briefing for candidates in the upcoming district council elections ended early last night after a handful of pro-democracy figures, including would-be candidate Joshua Wong, disrupted the briefing to reiterate protesters’ key demands and call for an end to political screening of candidates — namely, Wong himself.
The protest comes amid continuing uncertainty over whether the young pro-democracy activist will be allowed to stand in the elections on Nov. 24. Wong declared he would run last month for the Southern district, but election officials have yet to officially approve or reject his candidacy, and yesterday, the authorities revealed that the returning officer who was meant to approve his nomination had been replaced by another official after going on sick leave.
According to the SCMP, Wong is the very last of 1,104 applicants to have his candidacy vetted.
According to HK01, Wong went to last night’s candidate briefing — which took place at AsiaWorld-Expo — as an “election agent” for an unnamed candidate.
@demosisto @joshuawongcf arrived at the briefing venue as an election agent, as he is the only #DCElection2019 hopeful who hasn’t had his candidacy validated yet. #HongKong pic.twitter.com/rZ8Dzrqojp
— Frances Sit (@frances_sit) October 24, 2019
Election officials began allotting ballot numbers for candidates at 6pm, but at 8pm, when the official briefing session began, some of the candidates — led by Leung “Long Hair” Kwok-hung — started chanting slogans and waving black banners with protest slogans such as “Five key demands, not one less,” RTHK reports.
Wong and others could also be seen holding up signs and calling for an end to political screening.
#NOW – it is like if the #antiELAB protests moved indoors to a pre-election briefing. Candidates singing a parody song against the police. pic.twitter.com/MZs7vrCat1
— Lok (@sumlokkei) October 24, 2019
The meeting was suspended briefly for about 10 minutes, then resumed, but ultimately canceled when the chanting didn’t stop.
At least 10 police officers also had to enter the hall where the briefing was taking place.
At one point Wong could be seen trying to jump over a barrier in front of the dais in an apparent effort to get to Barnabas Fung, the chair of the Electoral Affairs Commission, who was leading the meeting. (Wong was thwarted by event staff.)
Wong had earlier told reporters that he wanted to ask Fung if the vetting process for his candidacy would need to start over.
#DCElection2019 candidate briefing ENDED as it got derailed by protests by pro-democracy candidates. #HongKongProtests pic.twitter.com/VUJ67tavlt
— Frances Sit (@frances_sit) October 24, 2019
Amid the shouting, Fung tried to deliver his opening remarks, saying the recent increase in violence is worrying that and he hoped it won’t disrupt the election process. He also urged people to maintain peace for an orderly, open, and fair election.
After repeated failed attempts to get the pro-democracy side to calm down, Fung canceled the meeting. The EAC last night issued a statement saying that it “strongly condemns” the disruption, and that information for candidates approved to run will be available online.
