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Businessman Checkley Sin Kwok-lam will announce his run in the chief executive election as early as today, sources said, making him the first one to declare his bid for the top SAR job.
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The speculation intensified after the 64-year-old, a film producer and kung fu master, said late last night he would be making a major announcement on YouTube and Facebook at 10am today.
Earlier, the speculation had it that he had been forming a campaign team and seeking Election Committee backing.
A friend said Sin had already resigned as the chairman of filmmaking company National Arts Entertainment and Culture Group in July. Sin also began discussing politics on his YouTube channel in late 2019.
With the nomination period to start February 15, he would be the first to announce his run for the chief executive job, as incumbent Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and New People's Party chief Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee - who are widely expected to join the race - have yet to announce their intention to run.
However, lawmakers and Election Committee members are divided on whether Sin can secure sufficient nominations to join the chief executive race scheduled for March 27.
Candidates will have to secure 188 nominations - at least 15 nominations from each of the five sectors - from within the committee.
Election Committee sector lawmaker Junius Ho Kwan-yiu believed it would not be difficult for Sin to secure nominations.
"I appreciate his courage, ideas and administrative philosophy. He is [a breath of] fresh air," Ho said, adding that he believes Beijing is not willing to see the election go uncontested, "therefore [Lam] should not think it is a sure win."
New People's Party lawmaker and Election Committee member Dominic Lee Tsz-king said Sin should not find it difficult to secure nominations from the first four sectors, but the fifth sector - consisting of Hong Kong representatives from national organizations often regarded as pro-Beijing loyalists - may be a different proposition.
A pro-establishment lawmaker, who spoke anonymously, said if Sin announces his candidacy, that would mean Beijing has given him the green light.
Further, an Election Committee member who wished to remain anonymous said Beijing might be hoping there would be two candidates in the race - one from within the government and one from outside the political system.
He noted that this did not mean Sin could enter the race simply because he was an outsider as he was only popular with hard-line pro-establishment supporters and many traditional pro-establishment heavyweights had not heard of him.
