Checkley Sin to announce standing in Chief Executive election: sources

Businessman Checkley Sin Kwok-lam will announce his run in the Chief Executive election as early as Wednesday, sources said, making him the first possible candidate to announce his bid for the city’s top job.

It is widely circulated within the political circle that 64-year-old Sin, who is also a film producer and kung fu master, has been forming his campaign team and seeking support from Election Committee (EC) members.

A friend of Sin said he has already long been hoping to join politics, and has already resigned as the chairman of film making company National Arts Entertainment and Culture Group last July.

Since the anti-fugitive bill movement in 2019, Sin has started to discuss politics on his newly-created YouTube channel, and it has already attracted 150,000 subscribers in around a year.

With the nomination period expected to start from February 15, he would be the first hopeful to announce his intention to take part in the CE race, as incumbent Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and New People’s Party chairwoman Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, who are widely expected to join the race, yet to announce their intention to run.

However, lawmakers and EC members are divided on whether Sin can secure sufficient nominations to join the CE race scheduled on March 27.

After the electoral changes, candidates will have to secure at least 188 nominations -- at least 15 nominations from each of the five sectors -- within the EC in order to run in the CE election, while each member from the 1,448-member EC can only nominate one candidate.

EC sector lawmaker Junius Ho Kwan-yiu believes that it would not be difficult for Sin to secure sufficient nomination, as everyone has the opportunity to run for CE.

“I appreciate his courage, ideas and administrative philosophy. He is quite good, and is also [a breath of] fresh air,” Ho said, while he might also nominate Sin.

He added that the current electoral system can allow two to four candidates to run for Hong Kong’s top job, and he believes Beijing is not willing to see an uncontested election.

“Therefore [Lam] should not think it is a sure win. With competition comes improvements,” he added.

New People’s Party lawmaker and EC member Dominic Lee Tsz-king said Sin should not find it difficult to secure nominations from the first four sectors of the EC, but the key lies in the fifth sector.

The fifth sector of the EC consists of representatives of Hong Kong members from national organizations, which are often regarded as pro-Beijing loyalists.

EC sector lawmaker and ophthalmologist Dennis Lam Shun-chiu said it is not easy for Sin to obtain 188 nominations, but it is possible, adding that it is “a good thing” if people from different sectors are interested in running in elections.

A pro-establishment lawmaker, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said if Sin really announces his candidacy, that would already means Beijing has already given Sin green light to run, and he will therefore have sufficient nominations.

However, a member of the EC that wished not to be named, said Beijing should be hoping for two candidates to run in the upcoming CE race – one from within the government and one from outside the political system.

But that does not mean Sin can enter the race simply because he is outside the political system, as he is only popular within hardline pro-establishment supporters, and many traditional pro-establishment heavyweights had not even heard of Sin’s name, he added.