Civic Party leader and lawmaker Alan Leong Kah-kit has announced that he will not be running in the 2016 Legislative Council election, which would mark the end of his 12-year term as a legislator next year.
Leong told local media on Wednesday that he decided not to run for another term in LegCo, saying that he “has done too many things, but they did not seem very effective” in the past 12 years. He said he has not discussed the decision with his party.
He has also stepped down as convener of the pan-democracy meetings, a weekly gathering formerly known as “lunch box meeting” which sees lawmakers in the pan-democracy camp get together over lunch to discuss political issues. Labour Party vice-chairwoman Cyd Ho Sau-lan took over the role on Wednesday.
“It’s not like the world can’t function without any one particular person,” Leong said of his decision not to run.
He said that he would consider running again if Hong Kong’s political environment changes and if he feels he could make a difference. He added that he hoped new faces from the Civic Party could be given opportunities to bring about change.
Leong had a word of advice for people hoping to become involved in politics. “I have seen people around me who are smarter than me, but who do not realise they are being manipulated by communists.”
Alan Leong Kah-kit was first elected to LegCo in 2004. He represented pro-democracy political group Basic Law Article 45 Concern Group, founded by a group of lawyers and academics striving for universal suffrage. The group later became the Civic Party in 2006. Leong has been the party’s leader since 2011.
He ran for chief executive in 2007 and was up against Donald Tsang, who later won. The two engaged in a live television debate, the first of its kind.
The Civic Party is currently represented by five lawmakers in LegCo: Leong, Kenneth Chan Ka-lok, Claudia Mo Man-ching, Kwok Ka-ki and Dennis Kwok Wing-hang. Lawmaker Ronny Tong Ka-wah left the party in July.
