10 Dec 2023獨媒#2638
Chan Kwok-ki says District Council election carnival day spending has not been calculated, but ‘some money should be spent’
今為區議會投票日，政務司司長陳國基今早投票後見記者，他形容昨日舉辦的區選繽紛日「氣氛好好」，見到市民參加活動很開心。他又稱未計算區選繽紛日開支，但認為能提醒市民今為投票日，雖然與投票率沒有直接關係，但「有啲錢係應使得使」，花費值得。至於現時投票率稍遜立法會投票，陳國基指時間尚早，「始終唔係咁多人咁早起身」。
Today is District Council polling day. After voting this morning, Chief Secretary for Administration Chan Kwok-ki told reporters that yesterday’s District Council Election Carnival Day had a “very good atmosphere” and that he was pleased to see members of the public taking part in the activities. He said the expenditure on the carnival day had not yet been calculated, but believed it had reminded the public that today was polling day. Although it was not directly related to the voter turnout, “some money should be spent”, and the expenditure was worthwhile. Regarding the current turnout being slightly lower than that for the Legislative Council election, Chan said it was still early, as “not that many people get up so early”.
10 Dec 2023獨媒#2639
District election “thank-you cards” offered online for $500; Luk Kai-hong: Best to vote and get one yourself
區議會投票在傍晚預備殺入「最後直路」，選管會主席陸啟康在九龍灣國際展貿中心交代最新投票狀況，整日累計有253宗選舉投訴，大多涉及選舉廣告。旋轉拍賣網站Carousell下午有人轉售投票後可獲發的「政府心意謝卡」，開價500元。選管委主席陸啟康被問看法，他笑指：「如果市民真係想要張心意卡，最好嘅方式就係自己去投票攞一張。」
As district council voting entered the final stretch in the evening, Electoral Affairs Commission Chairman Luk Kai-hong briefed the media on the latest voting situation at the Kowloon Bay International Trade & Exhibition Centre. A total of 253 election complaints had been received during the day, most involving election advertisements. In the afternoon, someone offered for resale on the online marketplace Carousell the “government thank-you card” issued after voting, with an asking price of $500. Asked for his view, Luk Kai-hong said with a smile: “If members of the public really want a thank-you card, the best way is to vote and get one yourself.”
10 Dec 2023獨媒#2640
Ho Shun To, Once an Advocate of the “Five Demands”, Revisits the 2019 District Council Election: Candidates Needed “Democratic Certification”, Defeat Was Due to Naivety and Ignorance
改制後的區議會選舉進入最後階段，代表經民聯出戰天水圍北的陶皜訊早前被揭發，2019年曾以素人身份出戰元朗區的「嘉湖北」，宣傳單張更寫有「五大訴求、缺一不可」等字句。他向《獨媒》表示，過去區議會過份民粹化，相信大絕大部分市民不認同，又指當年參選講求「民主認證」，最終大敗是因為「我天真亦都係無知啦」。他又認社香港年青人要有質素，分析哪一個人對真的社區好：「唔好講咁多，唔需要講話呢個係勇武、呢個和理非、呢個建制、呢個泛民，呢個有民主認證，我哋係咪睇呢啲嘢？」
The District Council election held after the electoral overhaul has entered its final stage. Ho Shun To, who is contesting Tin Shui Wai North on behalf of the Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong, was earlier revealed to have run as an independent candidate in the 2019 Yuen Long District Council election for Fairview Park North. His campaign leaflet included the words “Five demands, not one less”. He told The Independent Media that the District Councils had become excessively populist in the past, which he believed the overwhelming majority of residents did not support. He also said that candidates at the time were judged by their “democratic certification”, and that his heavy defeat was because “I was naive and also ignorant”. He added that Hong Kong’s young people needed to have quality, and discussed how to assess which candidates genuinely served the community: “Let’s not talk so much about whether this person is militant, this one peaceful, rational and non-violent, this one pro-establishment, this one pan-democratic, or this one has democratic certification. Should we be looking at these things?”
6 Dec 2023獨媒#8770
Sheung Shui near-border polling stations receive nearly 13,000 registrations, just 34% of capacity
區選「留人留票」其中一招，是政府於上水港鐵站鄰近兩所中學設立「鄰近邊境投票站」，吸引周末北上的港人先投票後玩樂。票站提供38,000名額，市民上月20日起接受預約，當局曾言若登記情況十分踴躍，會考慮適度增加名額。預約昨日屆滿，當局今日宣布數字，共有12,976個登記，佔整體名額僅34%。
One of the measures for the District Council election to “retain people and votes” was the government’s establishment of near-border polling stations at two secondary schools near Sheung Shui MTR station, attracting Hong Kong people heading north over the weekend to vote before enjoying themselves. The polling stations offered 38,000 places, and members of the public could make reservations from the 20th of last month. The authorities had said they would consider moderately increasing the quota if registrations were very enthusiastic. Reservations closed yesterday, and the authorities announced today that 12,976 registrations had been made, accounting for only 34% of the total quota.
5 Dec 2023獨媒#8761
Electoral Affairs Commission chairman: Will continually issue “humanised” reminders that voters may cast only one vote
區議會換屆投票將於周日（10日）舉行，政府除了蓋天舖地式宣傳，社署更資助長者中心安排巴士，協助長者當日去往投票。選管會主席陸啟康表示，只要不是誘使投票指定候選人，做法沒有問題，選管會當日亦不會派員巡查巴士，只在收到投訴後才會跟進。至於網上有人呼籲選票蓋兩「剔」，他強調煽惑他人投廢白票屬違法。不過陸啟康又指，不肯定是否因為「雙議席單票制有啲誤解喺度」，選管會將不斷「人性化」提醒選民只能揀一個候選人投票。
District Council election voting will take place on Sunday (10th). In addition to the government’s extensive publicity campaign, the Social Welfare Department has subsidised elderly centres to arrange buses to help older people travel to polling stations that day. Electoral Affairs Commission Chairman Luk Kai-hong said there would be no problem as long as the arrangements did not induce people to vote for a designated candidate. The Commission would not deploy staff to inspect the buses on the day, and would follow up only after receiving complaints. Regarding online calls for voters to mark two “ticks” on their ballot papers, he stressed that inciting others to cast invalid or blank ballots was illegal. However, Luk said he was unsure whether there was “some misunderstanding about the two-seat, single-vote system”, and that the Commission would continually issue “humanised” reminders that voters could vote for only one candidate.
5 Dec 2023集誌社#8767
The "the three committees" World | More Than 70% of Yuen Long Candidates “Nominated Each Other”, Saying It Is “Normal to Appreciate Each Other”; More Than 80% of Candidates Across Hong Kong Have a "the three committees" Background
區選新制，政府委任的 2,533 名「三會」成員，既有權提名候選人，又是間選（地區委員會界別）唯一選民。《集誌社》統計發現，今屆 399 名候選人，逾八成是當區的三會人；間選界別則接近九成。
三會人除了「親自落場」參選，記者分析元朗等八區 180 位候選人資料後發現，近兩成人屬「互相提名」，即「你提名我，我提名你」。有候選人回應稱「互相欣賞好正常」。新思維主席兼立法會議員狄志遠認為，三會人親自落場、互相提名，是小圈子「圍威喂」。
Under the new District Council system, the 2,533 government-appointed members of the “"the three committees"” have both the power to nominate candidates and are the only voters in the indirect election (District Committees constituency). Statistics compiled by The Collective Press found that more than 80% of the 399 candidates in this election are "the three committees" members in their respective districts; in the indirect-election constituency, the proportion is nearly 90%.
Apart from "the three committees" members “entering the race themselves”, an analysis by reporters of the profiles of 180 candidates across eight districts, including Yuen Long, found that nearly one-fifth had “nominated each other”—that is, “you nominate me and I nominate you”. One candidate responded that it was “quite normal to appreciate each other”. Tik Chi-yuen, chair of New Thinking and a Legislative Council member, said that "the three committees" members entering the race themselves and nominating each other amounted to “mutual back-scratching within a small circle”.
4 Dec 2023獨媒#8744
Paul Lam urges all Department of Justice staff to vote, saying giving up their choice could suggest indifference to the community
區議會選舉周日舉行，政府官員呼籲市民積極投票，多個政策局義工隊連番落區宣傳。律政司司長林定國周一致函律政司全體同事呼籲投票，並表明不認同「放棄選擇沒甚麼大不了」，認為放棄選擇，令人誤會我們不關心社區事務，重申投票可反映對選出的區議員的工作抱有殷切期望，並間接警醒他們必須盡力做事。
The District Council election will be held on Sunday. Government officials have urged members of the public to vote actively, while volunteer teams from multiple policy bureaux have repeatedly gone into communities to promote the election. Secretary for Justice Paul Lam Ting-kwok wrote to all Department of Justice colleagues on Friday urging them to vote. He said he did not agree that “giving up the choice is no big deal”, and believed that giving up the choice could lead people to misunderstand that “we do not care about community affairs”. He reiterated that voting could reflect high expectations for the work of the elected district councillors and indirectly remind them that they must do their best.
4 Dec 2023獨媒#8745
“Pan-democrat” Chung Hoi Lam Backs FTU Candidate, Declines Comment When Contacted by Reporter
區議會選舉周日進行投票，民主派今屆清零未能入閘參選。有網民發現，現任屯門區議員、2019年以民主黨身份參選、現已退出的林頌鎧支持工聯會候選人。《獨媒》記者致電林頌鎧查詢，他稱感冒初癒，並咳嗽數聲，並隨即收線拒絕回應。
Voting in the District Council election will take place on Sunday. The pan-democratic camp has been completely shut out of this election and is unable to stand. Some internet users discovered that incumbent Tuen Mun District Councillor Chung Hoi Lam, who ran as a Democratic Party candidate in 2019 and has since left the party, is backing an FTU candidate. An InMedia reporter called Chung Hoi Lam for comment. He said he had just recovered from a cold, coughed several times, and immediately hung up without responding.
1 Dec 2023集誌社#8732
"the three committees" Nominations 1 | Nominators all the same: Candidates with no party background share all nominators with DAB and HKFTU candidates
今屆「被完善」的區選，參選人要有九位「三會」成員提名才可入閘。《集誌社》分析其中八區 180 名候選人，共1,183 位提名人資料發現，不單參選人「清一色」，有選區連提名人也「清一色」。
在黃大仙，民建聯五候選人，都由九位相同的三會成員提名；有沒申報政治聯繫候選人，跟工聯會候選人的有效提名人名單，近乎一樣。在荃灣，有強調無政治聯繫候選人，跟民建聯候選人有效提名者「全撞」。
有提名人接受查詢時說：「撞到咁啱，可能真係會少啲」。有候選人則回應指：「如果有啲相同，然後諗好多嘢，咁就冇辦法㗎啦」。新思維主席狄志遠認為，如此巧合的難度很高，認為候選人須交代。
In this “improved” District Council election, candidates must secure nominations from nine "the three committees" members to qualify for the ballot. The Collective analysed data on 180 candidates in eight districts and 1,183 nominators, finding that not only were the candidates largely uniform, but that in some constituencies the nominators were also largely the same.
In Wong Tai Sin, each of the five DAB candidates was nominated by the same nine "the three committees" members. The valid nominator lists for candidates who did not declare political affiliations were almost identical to those for HKFTU candidates. In Tsuen Wan, candidates who stressed that they had no political affiliations had valid nominator lists that completely overlapped with those of DAB candidates.
One nominator said in response to enquiries: “With the overlap being so coincidental, there might indeed be fewer.” One candidate said: “If some are the same, and then people think too much about it, there’s nothing that can be done.” Tik Chi-yuen, chairman of Third Side, said the likelihood of such coincidences was very low and that the candidates should explain themselves.
1 Dec 2023集誌社#8733
Nominating "the three committees" 2 | Five DAB candidates “share” nine nominators; nominators admit: no recent contact with candidates
今屆「被完善」的區選，參選人要有九位「三會」成員提名才可入閘。《集誌社》分析其中八區 180 名候選人，共1,183 位提名人資料發現，不單參選人「清一色」，有選區連提名人也「清一色」。
在黃大仙，民建聯五候選人，都由九位相同的三會成員提名；工聯會的三名候選人，提名人也近乎一樣。有三會提名人直認，近期沒有接觸候選人，是政黨成員給他提名表；也有候選人不願回應，拉票後轉身登上的士離去。
In this year’s “improved” District Council election, candidates must obtain nominations from nine members of "the three committees" to qualify to stand. The Collective Media analysed data on 180 candidates and 1,183 nominators across eight districts, finding that not only were the candidates uniformly from the same camp, but in some districts the nominators were also the same.
In Wong Tai Sin, all five DAB candidates were nominated by the same nine members of "the three committees"; the nominators for the three FTU candidates were also nearly identical. One "the three committees" nominator admitted that he had not recently contacted the candidate and that party members had given him the nomination form. Some candidates declined to respond, while others left by taxi after canvassing.
Translations are supplied by the source workbook. Consult the original reporting for context.
