As the world's most democratic election draws closer, leaflets and flyers pile up in my letter-box, as 29 candidates on ten tickets (roughly corresponding to parties) compete for my vote in New Territories East, equestrian capital of the equine capital of the world.
One aspiring legislator who caught my eye was Gary Chan Hak-kan. Like his namesake Hakken Lee, the singer who shot to fame by reminding people to renew their ID card, Hakkan is a leftist, but a cuddly one. He's been rewarded for putting in a stint as special assistant to the chief executive by being promoted from last place on the DAB's ticket the last time the psephological charade was played out, in 2004, to second place, in which he's pretty much assured of a seat in the old Supreme Court building in Central.
Hakkan cut hismilk teeth as a Sha Tin District Councillor – even receiving the Chief Executive's Commendation for Community Service for his efforts in 2005 – before taking on the onerous dual roles of conducting surveys at the supermarket and doing Sir Donald's photocopying, for which he was rewarded with the allegedly princely sum of HK$80,000.
I sell him short, for according toHemmers (scroll – or "stroll", as the English language guy at J-Peg Holdings would say, down to Friday) he even had to answer the phone and fax press releases to government-friendly newspapers. (So, no IDD charges incurred there.)
Gary, just 32, is a canny operator. Not only does he sport a pink polo shirt in the group photo of the seven DAB hopefuls (properly speaking, two dead certs and five certain to be dead in the water), thus appealing to Tai Po's burgeoning gay community, he's also the only one to translate his blurb into English.
And what English it is! The two best bits he actually puts in italics:
Today, when I make a promise, I'm giving you my word.
If you think that's profound, you'll enjoy the second one:
I have entered and left the government to be a man of my word.
"My word!", indeed.
Well into his stride now, like the Cuban fellow who shot past a grovelling Liu Xiang, Hakkan reformulates his personal ambition as altruism:
"I am here to be the Legislative Councillor I have promised to be."
So, who will get my precious vote two weeks on Sunday?
Well, I'm a faithful soul and the type of person who accords an event the kind of respect it deserves, so once again that natty chop device will be planting a tick against "Leung Kwok-hung".
Not only is "Long Hair" well read (he knows his way around Hayek as well as James Tien knows his way around the Racing Post), but he's also deceptively intelligent, has a sense of humour and is able to exercise right judgement – four qualities not evinced by your average Hong Kong citizen playing at being a politician.
He put that judgement to good use by calling his party theLSD . After all, when the lunatics have taken over the asylum, it's the fellow who can say with the Geordie in Pink Floyd "I've always been mad" who shows he's still all there.
Or as all there as it's good for any human being to be. As the man said, "Show me a normal person and I'll cure him".
One aspiring legislator who caught my eye was Gary Chan Hak-kan. Like his namesake Hakken Lee, the singer who shot to fame by reminding people to renew their ID card, Hakkan is a leftist, but a cuddly one. He's been rewarded for putting in a stint as special assistant to the chief executive by being promoted from last place on the DAB's ticket the last time the psephological charade was played out, in 2004, to second place, in which he's pretty much assured of a seat in the old Supreme Court building in Central.
Hakkan cut his
I sell him short, for according to
Gary, just 32, is a canny operator. Not only does he sport a pink polo shirt in the group photo of the seven DAB hopefuls (properly speaking, two dead certs and five certain to be dead in the water), thus appealing to Tai Po's burgeoning gay community, he's also the only one to translate his blurb into English.
And what English it is! The two best bits he actually puts in italics:
Today, when I make a promise, I'm giving you my word.
If you think that's profound, you'll enjoy the second one:
I have entered and left the government to be a man of my word.
"My word!", indeed.
Well into his stride now, like the Cuban fellow who shot past a grovelling Liu Xiang, Hakkan reformulates his personal ambition as altruism:
"I am here to be the Legislative Councillor I have promised to be."
So, who will get my precious vote two weeks on Sunday?
Well, I'm a faithful soul and the type of person who accords an event the kind of respect it deserves, so once again that natty chop device will be planting a tick against "Leung Kwok-hung".
Not only is "Long Hair" well read (he knows his way around Hayek as well as James Tien knows his way around the Racing Post), but he's also deceptively intelligent, has a sense of humour and is able to exercise right judgement – four qualities not evinced by your average Hong Kong citizen playing at being a politician.
He put that judgement to good use by calling his party the
Or as all there as it's good for any human being to be. As the man said, "Show me a normal person and I'll cure him".
3 comments:
Long Hair reads Hayek? Isn't he supposed to be a Marxist?
Spare a thought for Lev Davidovich Bronstein - a "Trotskyite" founding a party called the League of Social Democrats.
I got the pamphlet, too, Ulie. I was a little concerned about the mis-use of 'HK Deserves Better', especially as it had just come after the DAB's claim to 'fighting for rights' in a relentless, rather than ruthless, fashion.
By the way, the Tai Po pink vote is rather more sophisticated than you give it credit... Indeed, the local representative told me the other day he doesn't do 'Potemkin politics', which must be why we get along so well.
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