Hong Kong voters queue up early over fears of later clashes
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Splash
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Long Read
  • Games
  • Epaper
  • More
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Subscribe
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard
WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2022
WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2022
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Splash
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Long Read
  • Games
  • Epaper
  • More
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Subscribe
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
Hong Kong voters queue up early over fears of later clashes

Politics

Reuters
24 November, 2019, 08:35 am
Last modified: 24 November, 2019, 08:56 am

Related News

  • Hong Kong police bail Catholic cardinal arrested on national security charge
  • Hong Kong police arrest Catholic cardinal, a democratic advocate
  • China says G7 concern over Hong Kong leader selection is interference
  • Hong Kong's next leader endorsed by pro-Beijing elites
  • Hong Kong zero-Covid policies create mountains of plastic waste

Hong Kong voters queue up early over fears of later clashes

Many see the polls as a "referendum" on support for the anti-government protest movement coming as the city grapples with its biggest political crisis in decades

Reuters
24 November, 2019, 08:35 am
Last modified: 24 November, 2019, 08:56 am
Voters queue to vote at a polling station during district council local elections in Hong Kong, China November 24, 2019/ Reuters
Voters queue to vote at a polling station during district council local elections in Hong Kong, China November 24, 2019/ Reuters

Hong Kong voters at some polling stations for district council elections were queuing up by the hundreds on Sunday morning, citing concerns voting could be halted later in the day after six months of sometimes violent unrest in the Chinese-controlled city.

Brutal attacks on candidates have thrust Hong Kong's lowest-tier government onto the international stage, with the district elections seen as an important barometer of support for Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam's embattled administration.

Many see the polls as a "referendum" on support for the anti-government protest movement, coming as the city grapples with its biggest political crisis in decades.

A stand-off at Polytechnic University on Sunday entered its seventh day, with the campus surrounded by police as some protesters remained in classrooms and first-aid workers roamed the campus.

As voting got underway at 7:30 am (2330 GMT on Saturday), Reuters witnesses said there was only a small police presence, in contrast to earlier reports that riot police planned to guard all polling stations and almost all officers in the 31,000 strong force would be on duty.

Kevin Lai, a 45-year-old IT worker near the front of the line outside Wong Tai Sin primary school in Kowloon, said he came early over fears he wouldn't be able to vote later.

"Some people are afraid the elections will be stopped by unpredictable reasons — maybe some protests," he said as hundreds of voters in the landlocked neighbourhood of housing estates wound around a block waiting their turn.

"We have to show we stand with Hong Kong," Lai said. "Most of the councillors stand with the government and are not helping Hong Kong."

Chan, 31, who was in front of the queue at the Fung Kam Sports Centre in Yuen Long, a rural district near the Chinese border, said she came early because she was expecting a big turnout.

"I have not seen an election like this before, but because of the situation it is important to vote .. .and I know many people feel like me," said Chan, who works in sales.

She said she grew up in Yuen Long but did not want to reveal any political allegiances. As she spoke, election officials prepared the ballot box in the middle of a basketball court. A lone police officer watched them.

The Fung Kam polling station is one of the closest to the Yuen Long railway station where suspected triad gangsters attacked anti-government protesters and commuters on July 21.

A record 1,104 people are running for 452 district seats and a record 4.1 million Hong Kong people have enrolled to vote for district councillors, who control some local spending, and whose daily decision making spans a range of neighbourhood issues including recycling, transport and public healthcare.

Beijing-backed Lam cast her ballot at 8:30 am in front of television cameras.

Some of the seats that were once uncontested, and dominated by pro-Beijing candidates, are now being fought for by young pro-democracy activists.

One of the candidates running in Sha Tin is Jimmy Sham of Civil Human Rights Front, organiser of some of the mass anti-government rallies in recent months who was beaten by men with hammers in October.

The protests started over a now-withdrawn bill that would have allowed people to be sent to China for trial, but which soon evolved into calls for full democracy, posing the biggest popular challenge to Chinese President Xi Jinping since he came to power in 2012.

World+Biz / Top News

hong kong / Hong Kong unrest

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • A labourer carries a sack filled with sugar to load it onto a supply truck at a wholesale market in Kolkata, India, November 14, 2018. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri
    India restricts sugar exports at 10 million tonnes
  • Photo: Noor-A-Alam
    How fixed rate regime makes Bangladesh Bank’s monetary tools ineffective
  • British International Investment (BII) CEO Nick O’Donohoe. Illustration: TBS
    BII to invest $450m in Bangladesh in 5 years

MOST VIEWED

  • Anthony Albanese, leader of Australia's Labor Party, addresses supporters after incumbent Prime Minister and Liberal Party leader Scott Morrison conceded defeat in the country's general election, in Sydney, Australia May 21, 2022. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
    New Australian govt looks to SE Asia as it deals with 'difficult' China relationship
  • Anthony Albanese, leader of Australia's Labor Party, addresses supporters after incumbent Prime Minister and Liberal Party leader Scott Morrison conceded defeat in the country's general election, in Sydney, Australia May 21, 2022. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
    Australia's new PM Albanese to fly to Quad meet hours after taking reins
  • US President Joe Biden arrives aboard Air Force One at Yokota US Air Force Base in Fussa, on the outskirts of Tokyo, Japan May 22, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
    Biden meets Japanese Emperor at start of visit to launch regional economic plan
  • U.S. President Biden speaks to reporters while departing at Des Moines International Airport in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S., April 12, 2022. REUTERS/Al Drago
    Biden to launch economic plan for Indo-Pacific region
  • Anthony Albanese, leader of Australia's Labor Party, shows a thumbs up sign while addressing supporters after incumbent Prime Minister and Liberal Party leader Scott Morrison conceded defeat in the country's general election, in Sydney, Australia May 21, 2022. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
    In sharp switch, Australia votes for climate action
  • Anthony Albanese, leader of Australia's Labor Party, addresses supporters after incumbent Prime Minister and Liberal Party leader Scott Morrison conceded defeat in the country's general election, in Sydney, Australia May 21, 2022. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
    Australia's Labor likely win election; independents look to hold sway

Related News

  • Hong Kong police bail Catholic cardinal arrested on national security charge
  • Hong Kong police arrest Catholic cardinal, a democratic advocate
  • China says G7 concern over Hong Kong leader selection is interference
  • Hong Kong's next leader endorsed by pro-Beijing elites
  • Hong Kong zero-Covid policies create mountains of plastic waste

Features

Underlying problems such as school dropouts need to be addressed first before taking a legal route to stop child labour. Photo: Reuters

‘Child labour in a country like Bangladesh is primarily a development issue, not so much of enforcement’

14m | Panorama
The balcony railings of the Boro Sardar Bari in Sonargaon. Made of cast iron, these railings feature vertical posts with intricate designs on top. Photo: Noor-A-Alam

The evolution of railing and grille designs

23h | Habitat
A Russian army service member fires a howitzer during drills at the Kuzminsky range in the southern Rostov region, Russia January 26, 2022. REUTERS/Sergey Pivovarov/File Photo

3 months of Ukraine war : Miscalculations, resistance and redirected focus

1d | Analysis
Musk is denying the sexual harassment allegation that surfaced this week. Photo: Bloomberg

Elon Musk’s crazily banal week 

1d | Panorama

More Videos from TBS

When is the right time to invest?

When is the right time to invest?

24m | Videos
Bangladesh Bank relaxes rules to deal with dollar crisis

Bangladesh Bank relaxes rules to deal with dollar crisis

13h | Videos
Russia claims use of laser weapons, Ukraine denies

Russia claims use of laser weapons, Ukraine denies

13h | Videos
Celebrity Gallery in Rajshahi like Madame Tussauds

Celebrity Gallery in Rajshahi like Madame Tussauds

14h | Videos

Most Read

1
Tk100 for bike, Tk2,400 for bus to cross Padma Bridge
Bangladesh

Tk100 for bike, Tk2,400 for bus to cross Padma Bridge

2
A packet of US five-dollar bills is inspected at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington March 26, 2015. REUTERS/Gary Cameron
Banking

Dollar hits Tk100 mark in open market

3
Bangladesh at risk of losing ownership of Banglar Samriddhi
Bangladesh

Bangladesh at risk of losing ownership of Banglar Samriddhi

4
BSEC launches probe against Abul Khayer Hero and allies
Stocks

BSEC launches probe against Abul Khayer Hero and allies

5
The reception is a volumetric box-shaped room that has two glass walls on both the front and back ends and the other two walls are adorned with interior plants, wood and aluminium screens. Photo: Noor-A-Alam
Habitat

The United House: Living and working inside nature

6
Illustration: TBS
Banking

Let taka slide

The Business Standard
Top
  • Home
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • About Us
  • Bangladesh
  • International
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Economy
  • Sitemap
  • RSS

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net

Copyright © 2022 THE BUSINESS STANDARD All rights reserved. Technical Partner: RSI Lab