Hong Kong minister admits ‘relatively low’ trust in government, as district council election rumours spread on social media amid anti-government protests
- Patrick Nip vows to clarify the facts around the hotly contested votes, after online claims of early poll closures and facial recognition technology inside booths
A Hong Kong government minister admitted that trust in the administration was “relatively low” on Sunday, as various officials dealt with a swirl of rumours around hotly contested local elections.
As city residents headed to the polls in record numbers, widely shared social media messages reported several unsubstantiated potential threats, from early closures of polling stations to Facebook harvesting voting data.
The polls, to choose 452 local councillors, were some of the most closely watched district-level elections since the city returned to Chinese rule in 1997. The results will be seen as a barometer of support for the anti-government protest movement now roiling the city, and could exert more pressure on embattled leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor to find new ways to resolve the impasse.
After voting at Sha Tin Government Secondary School on Sunday, Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Patrick Nip Tak-kuen was asked why many voters apparently feared polling stations would close early.
He replied: “The people’s level of trust in the government has been relatively low ... but as I have said, the voting time is from 7.30am to 10.30pm, and votes will only be counted after this process has finished.”
