Lam Cheuk-ting, the chief executive of the Democratic Party, was surrounded outside the party’s headquarters by pro-Beijing demonstrators on Tuesday. The group were protesting after he revealed that staff at the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) were unhappy that procedures were not followed in a vote-rigging investigation.
The group, called the Federation to Catch Ghosts in the City, was led by Chan Wan-sang of the pro-establishment Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB). They held signs bearing slogans such as “using the ICAC to make up stories, selling out privacy for votes” and “casually exposing internal information, how can privacy be exposed?”
They also chanted “traitor to the Chinese people” during the protest. Meanwhile, Lam, a former ICAC investigator, held a banner which said “DAB, the most shameful; supporting CY [Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying], hurting integrity.”
Lam said that he was hit on the head and waist and has made reports to the police. “If there were no police, I believe that the attacks that I suffered would be more serious,” he said at a press conference.
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According a statement from the Democratic Party, Lam was to receive a letter from the group, but he switched to holding a press conference after being hit.
He said at the press conference that “I think if we want to catch [a ghost], we should catch CY first. CY is the person behind many of Hong Kong’s problems, especially the ICAC incidents this time.” He said that the DAB’s support of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying has hurt the credibility of the ICAC.
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Christine Fong Kwok-shan, who is running independently for the Legislative Council seat in New Territories East, also reported Lam to the ICAC on Tuesday afternoon for misleading the public by saying that she was supported by the China Liaison Office and the New Territories Association of Societies in her campaigning.
The elections for the new Legislative Council will take place in a little more than a week, on September 4. The full list of candidates across districts and constituencies can be found here.
