In my geographical constituency, I've voted for this guy in our General (never mind local,) Elections for the last three votes (every four years) - so what the fuck do I know!
He stood independently and lost the first time in year 2000 and thereafter (and previously too,) was regularly ejected forceably from the public gallery of the Legislative Council (our Parliament).
But he won spectacularly the second time (in 2004,) and then retained his seat in the 2008 General Election with over 80,000 votes - and increased his majority too! (He only got 18,000 votes the first time he stood in 2000, but was up against a strong, high profile, opponent).
He has now been my representative in LegCo for five years - one year into his second term - and a companion on demo's for much longer (though we don't socialise anymore - dammit I must rekindle that, late nights in the bar plotting all kinds of shite; I guess I'm getting too old and skint these days).
He's on every demo' (and we do alot of 'em,) and is always up for a good ruck with the fuzz.
He's been busted for all kinds of things - usually obstruction in a public place, occasionally for organising demonstrations without notifying the fuzz, a couple of times for illegal broadcasting (our "Citizens' Radio",) and once for assaulting a cop.
He served 28 days for the cop assault (he pushed the pig over at a demo', 'cos the pig was being violent,) and has served two other short stretches for non-payment of fines on other offences - but always grows his hair back when released. (His popular nomiker is "Cheung Mo" [Long Hair].)
He was a mate of mine back in the early/mid/late 1990's and I pushed him again and again and again to stand - as did many in our circle at the time. He is popular with the poor and has always been a crusader for social justice. He has been ceaselesly campaigning and demonstrating for the underdog since the mid-1970's when he was at secondary school - which he didn't complete, too interested in politics.
Now that he's a legislator (MP in the UK,) he is a powerful force in LegCo and has formed a Party, The League Of Social Democrats, which now has three Legislators (the additional two added in the 2008 General Election) out of a House of 60.
He sometimes turns up in fancy dress rather than his more usual attire of jeans and "Che" T-shirt (a chicken costume, for example, when the price of chickens spiked due to bird-flue-culls, and as a pig when pork prices ramped). And will drag a life-sized (well, death-sized, I guess,) mock-coffin into the chamber to signify the death of democracy, whenever the govt. tries to push through another autocratic policy or to restrict the growth of (our stingy,) social welfare programmes.
When the Chief Executive (Prime Minister to Brits',) gives his bollocks speeches, Longhair chucks fresh bananas at him and challenges him to name the cost of a catty (about one pound in weight,) of them at his (the CE's,) local wet-market. The CE, of course, has no clue and is then (rightly,) berated for being out of touch. He brought a basket of eggs once and made the same price-challenge, but was ordered out of the chamber before he could lob them.
A man of deep integrity, a true representative of "The People".
He earns about GBP 50,000 a year as a Legislator (before 15% tax,) and keeps about GBP 12,000 a year for himself (he lives, and always has, in a small, decrepit, public-housing flat) and donates the rest; some to his party for expenses and much to various charities.
I reckon he'll be elected again in 2012, with yet another increased majority.
Now that's fuckin' politics!
Woof
I like.
I'm gonna need to do some serious training if I'm going to have a snowball in Hell's chance of climbing Ma On Shan this winter.
