Young politicians to take on election veterans

A NEW political group formed by young people will take part in the November district council elections.

Youngspiration (青年新政), formed after the Occupy Movement, will field nine candidates.

About 60 members of the group attended an oath-taking assembly (誓師大會) in west Kowloon yesterday.

They chanted “Hongkongers, let’s win this together”, its campaign slogan for the elections on 22 November.

Group convenor Baggio Leung Chung-hang (召集人梁頌恆) said they had about 140 members, most of whom are aged below 30.

Leung said he will not try to estimate how many of the group’s candidates stand a chance of winning against more experienced politicians.

“It depends on the people of Hong Kong,” he said.

“If the turnout reaches 50 percent, we will have a chance to win some seats, and if it hits 60 percent or more we can even have all nine candidates returned,” he said.

The 29-year-old student leader quit his job as a digital marketing manager a month ago to contest the Central and Western District Kwun Lung constituency. That seat has been held by veteran district councillor Ip Kwok-him (葉國謙) of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (民建聯) for more than 10 years.

Group spokesman Donald Chow Sai-kit (周世傑), 23, will run in Central and Western District’s Kennedy Town and Mount Davis constituency. The remaining seven will run in Yau Tsim Mong, Kowloon City and Kwai Tsing districts.

(The Standard, 21 September, 2015)