Young activists take on China
Young Hong Kong independence activists calling for a complete break from China stood for the first time yesterday in city-wide legislative elections, the biggest polls since mass pro-democracy protests in 2014.
They were fighting for seats in the Legislative Council (LegCo) as concerns grow that Beijing is tightening its grip on the semi-autonomous city.
Campaigners made a last-ditch push for votes in the final hours and by early evening the turnout stood at nearly 40 percent, or 1.5 million.
But victories for the young activists could split the vote for the pro-democracy camp -- and end up playing into the hands of pro-Beijing parties.
Most established pro-democracy politicians do not support the notion of independence and may lose seats to voters who now favour more radical new groups.
If the democrats lose just four seats overall, they will forfeit the one-third voting bloc they need to veto bills, stacking the already skewed legislature even more in favour of Beijing.
Polls have shown that some of the handful of pro-independence candidates may win seats.
"This election is very much characterised by an inter-generational change of politicians and political leaders," Political analyst Joseph Cheng told AFP.
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