Pro-democracy candidates in Hong Kong took a significant early lead in district ...
HONG KONG - Pro-democracy candidates in Hong Kong took a significant early lead in district council elections after residents turned out in record numbers on Sunday to vote following six months of anti-government protests.
Initial results from the voting, which ended with no major disruptions, began to trickle in after midnight and signaled major gains for the pro-democracy camp. “The performance of the pro-democracy camp will send a signal to Beijing,” said Andrew Li, a 22-year-old student who supported a pro-democracy candidate. “By ignoring people’s demands, it wakes up all Hong Kong people to come out and vote.”
China denies interfering and says it is committed to the “one country, two systems” formula for the autonomy of Hong Kong. Police say they have shown restraint in the face of potentially deadly attacks. Other successful pro-democracy candidates included Lester Shum, a former student leader of the umbrella movement in 2014, and Kelvin Lam, who stood in after activist Joshua Wong was barred from running.
The protests started over a now-withdrawn extradition bill that would have allowed people to be sent to mainland China for trial but rapidly evolved into calls for full democracy, posing the biggest popular challenge to Chinese President Xi Jinping since he came to power in 2012.
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