The District Council (DC) 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, excluding the new towns around Tseung Kwan O. This is the first time that all constituencies have had competitive elections; usually around two or three of the local councillors are elected unopposed.
Fourth up is Sai Kung Islands. This constituency encompasses much of Sai Kung East Country Park and all the outer islands north east of Sai Kung Town. It has a population of 12.894 with an electorate of 5,657. It has been represented by Philip Li Ka-leung since 2011. This constituency is one of those that regularly has uncontested elections, and Li was elected unopposed in 2015.
The first candidate is Chan Ka Lam, 29, a Research Officer. She is also a member of the Power for Democracy political group, and member of local activist group Sai Kung Commons. Her bilingual manifesto emphasises achieving a just and more transparent district council, democratising and building an inclusive and diverse Sai Kung for both the public and animals. She is well known for taking the Marine and Country Parks Authority to court for not incorporating country park enclaves into the Country Parks in 2014, as well as winning a case in the High Court in 2017 against the Town Planning Board in the matter of the rezoning of these enclaves for building small houses.
Philip Li Ka-leung has been elected as District Councillor for the constituency since 2011. The 42-year-old is standing on behalf of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), widely seen as a front for the Chinese Communist Party. It holds the largest number of seats in the Sai Kung District Council, and governs with a slim majority with the help of other pro-establishment parties. His manifesto is mainly in Chinese with a single sentence “Love and cherish to rebuild our home” in English.
Li was unopposed at the last election in 2015. In 2011 Li received 935 votes against his opponent’s 357.
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