The UK held local council elections today, with parties scrambling for some 5,000 seats in fiercely contested races. Labour faces a grim outlook — potentially losing a large number of seats, a setback that could kickstart calls for Prime Minister Keir Starmer's resignation. Yet if the anti-immigration Reform Party scores a landslide, BNO Hong Kong people will be no better off.
Also worth noting: 18 Hong Kong BNOs who have relocated to the UK are standing for election across various parties — among them, shockingly, Simon Cheng Man-Kit, a national security fugitive wanted by Hong Kong police.
National security fugitive Simon Cheng Man-Kit is running for Labour — and admits he's doing it for protection. Pure political opportunism.
His record is anything but clean. Cheng is one of the founders of the subversive organisation "Hong Kong Parliament" and a key figure among the anti-Hong Kong activist diaspora in the UK. His decision to align with Labour — and what he revealed in media interviews — lays bare a calculating, opportunistic political strategy. He may, however, have badly miscalculated by boarding the Labour sinking ship.
Cheng's background is deeply murky. During the 2019 Black Riots, he was employed at the British Consulate-General in Hong Kong — and was spotted operating on the frontlines of the riots in a mysterious capacity. He later travelled to the Chinese Mainland on what was supposedly official consulate business, only to be arrested by public security authorities on suspicion of soliciting a prostitute. Cheng vigorously denied the allegations, but the evidence against him — both witness and evidence were substantial.
After his release, he made a hasty exit to the UK, where he was swiftly granted political asylum. He wasted no time founding the "Hongkongers in Britain" to continue his disruptive activities, and successfully lobbied for government funding.
This time, Cheng is standing as a Labour candidate in the Queensbury ward in northwest London. When asked by the media why he chose to represent Labour, he was remarkably candid: "Since Labour is currently the governing party, we should all the more participate in it and seek change from within the system." From a purely pragmatic standpoint, he is not wrong — Labour remains in power, at least for now, making it the most advantageous vehicle to hitch a ride on.
Labour in recent years has been blowing warm winds toward Beijing, drawing fierce criticism from anti-China voices in the UK — and Cheng sits firmly in that camp. Doesn't backing Labour contradict his own stated position? He managed to have it both ways, saying that standing for Labour "does not mean I fully endorse the party's China policy; rather, I hope to change their stance by participating within the system."
He also openly admitted that personal safety and self-interest factored into the calculation: "As a political refugee, running for public office provides me with an additional layer of protection."
Political opportunists always do the maths — but they can get it spectacularly wrong. Labour has tightened immigration policy significantly in recent years, erecting barrier after barrier for BNO Hong Kong people seeking permanent residency and naturalisation. That has alienated Hong Kong people and other ethnic communities in the UK. Flying the Labour banner is, for Cheng, likely to do more harm than good.
Labour's economic record since taking office has been dismal — growth has stalled while inflation has surged, and public support has collapsed. The party is widely expected to shed thousands of seats in these local elections. The odds are very high that Cheng has indeed boarded the wrong ship.
Labour is hemorrhaging support — and Cheng may have just boarded a sinking ship.
Cheng's opportunism extends well beyond the ballot box. Around the middle of last year, the government's "Welcome Hong Kongers" scheme was drastically scaled back — slashing annual funding to Hong Kong people's organisations from £2.6 million to £1 million. The “Hongkongers in Britain” took a major cut and was forced to pivot to fundraising, tapping into the pockets of Hong Kong people living in the UK.
In the scramble for funding, Cheng has repeatedly fed information to the media attacking rival activist organisations. He claimed that Cheung Hei Ching — leader of the "The Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK) Foundation" and herself a wanted fugitive — is too politically opportunistic. He warned that Kwok Tsz-kin, founder of "The Hong Kong Scots (CIC)," has hidden motives and should be approached with caution. There is no subtlety in the infighting.
His willingness to bite the hand of fellow activists for personal gain mirrors exactly the same mentality behind his courting of Labour for a council seat. Together, these episodes reveal what truly lies beneath the political make-up of these anti-Hong Kong figures.
Lai Ting-yiu
What Say You?
** 博客文章文責自負,不代表本公司立場 **
