District Council election – introduction to candidates: 1. Sai Kung North

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Hoi Ha is one of the enclaves in the Sai Kung North constituency

The District Council election takes place on 24 November. BUZZ is running stories this week highlighting the candidates standing in the six Sai Kung and Clearwater Bay constituencies. This is the first time that all constituencies have had competitive elections; usually around three of the local councillors are elected unopposed.

First up is Sai Kung North. Unlike other constituencies we look at, this one is in Tai Po District, not Sai Kung. This is a historical anomaly that does not look as if it will ever be rectified. Sai Kung North encompasses all of the  Sai Kung West Country Park, and encompasses many village enclaves like Hoi Ha, Ko Tong, Tai Tan and Wong Shek and extends along the north side of Sai Sha Road as far as Shap Sze Heung. It has a population of 14.102 and an electorate of 6,814.

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The first is new-comer Tam Yi Pui, a 21-year-old university graduate. He is affiliated with local activist group Sai Kung Commons as well as political grouping Power for Democracy. His campaign is focused on sustainable development, nature protection and traffic improvement.

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The second candidate Rex Li Wah Kwong, the current District Councillor. Li is a member of the pro-establishment Business and Professionals Alliance, a political grouping with seven Legislative Councillors, two Executive Councillors, six CPPCC members and a NPC member, including Lau Wong-fat, ex-boss of the Heung Yee Kuk. Li’s election manifesto is in Chinese only, and is the standard BPA flyer.

In the 2015 District Council election Rex Li beat unaligned candidate Victor Li Kwai-yau (no relation) by just 20 votes, scoring 50.5% of the vote. So this contest looks to be very close. The previous Councillor David Ho, who represented the constituency between 1988 and 2015 usually scored around 2/3 of the vote.

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