Lee had hoped to combine LegCo by-elections into one

Head of Hong Kong's largest political party said she had hoped the government will combine the by-elections as one to fill the six vacant Legislative Council seats.

Starry Lee Wai-king, chairwoman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, said having too many by-elections would annoy people and waste public funds.

"The DAB in general and our supporters are disappointed by the government's decision," she told China Daily in an exclusive interview.

"Many citizens don't understand why we should not run just one by-election, knowing it involves huge financial and public resources, as well as participation by various stakeholders. A single by-election to fill the vacancies at one go best fulfills the principles of cost-effectiveness and public interest," Lee argued.

On Sept 14, the government announced that a by-election will be held on March 11 next year to fill four of the six LegCo vacancies resulting from the court's disqualification of lawmakers due to improper oath-taking.

This means another by-election for the remaining two vacancies will be held separately, pending outcome of appeals by the other two disqualified lawmakers - Leung Kwok-hung and Lau Siu-lai.

Lee pointed out Leung and Lau had political motives in changing their minds to lodge appeals at the last minute, hoping to prevent a consolidated poll to fill all six vacancies.

She wished the government could have waited until the outcome of the appeals by the two. But Lee said the DAB would accept the arrangement after the government made a decision and would not cause trouble as the opposition camp always did.

She however asked the government to monitor the situation closely. If all the appeal cases are resolved early, there is no reason to run separate by-elections.

On running in the by-elections, she said DAB always aims to participate proactively and obtain good results. This time, they have suitable members in mind to contest in the Hong Kong Island, Kowloon West and New Territories East geographical constituencies.

Lee said the party will discuss with its allies in the pro-establishment camp before coming up with the final candidates.

"The by-elections are no easy battles. We must show unity and nominate candidates who stand for greater chances in the best interest of the whole camp rather than focus on partisan interest. If we send more than one candidate to run in a constituency, we will achieve nothing but slash our own votes and damage our cooperation in the legislature," she analyzed.

As for the vacant seat in the Architectural, Surveying, Planning and Landscape functional constituency, Lee said they would probably support former lawmaker Tony Tse Wai-chuen, who lost his seat in last year's election. In her view, Tse is very industrious, proactive in his work and has rich professional experience as a surveyor.

joseph@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 09/21/2017 page4)