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Saturday, Feb 22, 2025
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'Meaningless' to count constituencies as one
It is meaningless to combine the voting rate of the Election Committee constituency and functional constituency with that of the direct elections, executive councillor Ip Kwok-him said.
Ip was apparently responding to a proposal made last week by Tian Feilong, director of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, amid expectations that the Legislative Council elections to be held on December 19 would see a low voter turnout.
Such a proposal is "deluding himself and others," Ip said, adding that the voting rate of the three types of constituencies has been calculated separately all along so it is "meaningless."
"I think expressing the voting rate separately would be more appropriate," Ip said. "I do expect the voter turnout for the Election Committee constituency to be very high, which will be at least 90 percent, but the voter base of the three types of constituencies are different.
"Tian is a scholar and he has the right to raise opinions, but I do not understand why it is an issue. What is the problem with a 30, 40 or 50 percent voting rate?"
Ip also expects the voter turnout in the geographical constituency to be lower than before.
"This is a new electoral system, the voters need to adapt to it, but I believe patriotic candidates will get voters' support," he said.
Although Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced on Saturday that the government is hammering out details for Hongkongers to vote at mainland border control points, Ip thinks it would not help the voting rate much either.
Tian defended his own proposal, saying that the voter turnout is actually a complicated "political mathematic question" and a normal mathematical mindset should not be used.
Earlier yesterday, three of the four candidates running in the Hong Kong Island East constituency campaigned at Taikoo station, with street booths set up to ask for voters' support.
They were Federation of Trade Unions' Stanley Ng Chau-pei, Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong's Edward Leung Hei and New People's Party's Marcus Liu Tin-shing.
The three all called on the government to reopen borders with the mainland as soon as possible, and Ng said the government should especially care about cross-border workers, families, school children and patients.
Also running is Jason Poon Chuk-hung, managing director of construction firm China Technology Corporation. He is the whistleblower who revealed the shoddy construction works at Hung Hom Station.
Such a proposal is "deluding himself and others," Ip said, adding that the voting rate of the three types of constituencies has been calculated separately all along so it is "meaningless."
"I think expressing the voting rate separately would be more appropriate," Ip said. "I do expect the voter turnout for the Election Committee constituency to be very high, which will be at least 90 percent, but the voter base of the three types of constituencies are different.
"Tian is a scholar and he has the right to raise opinions, but I do not understand why it is an issue. What is the problem with a 30, 40 or 50 percent voting rate?"
Ip also expects the voter turnout in the geographical constituency to be lower than before.
"This is a new electoral system, the voters need to adapt to it, but I believe patriotic candidates will get voters' support," he said.
Although Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced on Saturday that the government is hammering out details for Hongkongers to vote at mainland border control points, Ip thinks it would not help the voting rate much either.
Tian defended his own proposal, saying that the voter turnout is actually a complicated "political mathematic question" and a normal mathematical mindset should not be used.
Earlier yesterday, three of the four candidates running in the Hong Kong Island East constituency campaigned at Taikoo station, with street booths set up to ask for voters' support.
They were Federation of Trade Unions' Stanley Ng Chau-pei, Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong's Edward Leung Hei and New People's Party's Marcus Liu Tin-shing.
The three all called on the government to reopen borders with the mainland as soon as possible, and Ng said the government should especially care about cross-border workers, families, school children and patients.
Also running is Jason Poon Chuk-hung, managing director of construction firm China Technology Corporation. He is the whistleblower who revealed the shoddy construction works at Hung Hom Station.
