[TV Recaps] “The Election” Episode 6

The Election <選戰>
HKTV Series 2014

Cast: Angelica Lee, Liu Kai Chi, Poon Chan Leung, Savio Tsang, Gregory Wong, Felix Lok, Mimi Kung

Episode 6 Recap

In the 2012 election, the media exposed the backroom deals that took place, but what citizens saw was only the tip of the iceberg. Elections have and always will be a mixture of competition and backroom dealing.

In a radio interview, Yip Ching (Angelica Lee) is asked to comment about the dirt that netizens have dug up from Cheung Kwai Lung’s (Gregory Wong) past. She continues to defend him despite the negative impact on her campaign.

Tse Mei Mei (Luvin Ho), the woman accusing Cheung of rape, faints in front of the courthouse just before she is set to testify. The case is delayed until she recovers. Rumors go around that she is purposely delaying the case until after the election, on orders from her husband, deputy minister Li Chong Chai (Jim Ping). Song is told that Yip Ching was seen meeting with Li before the trial. He orders his assistant to find out what benefits she may have offered to Li.

Song hires a team of people to slander Cheung on social media. They make numerous negative posts about him on social media platforms and also manipulate the search results to have “Cheung Kwai Lung, political dirtbag” come up as the first hit on search engines. Song is thrilled by this progress. On the other side, Yip Ching gathers her own team to retaliate in the online war.

Poon Tsz Wan (Eunice Ho) continues with her investigation into Wai Man Hin. She finds out from a retired reporter that Wai had once registered a foreign shell company to hide a sizable fund from an unknown source. She suspects that it may have been a political bribe, but there is no evidence.

Deputy Minister Li meets with Song and two other legislators. He tries to persuade them to support the D9 bill regarding land development in the New Territories. The two legislators are fearful that it will anger their constituents, however, Song agrees to help pass the bill. Speaking privately with Li, Song also offers him a position in his government if he is elected. In exchange, he wants to see Tse Mei Mei’s speedy “recovery” to allow the rape case to proceed.

The Northeastern New Territories Development Plan is a proposal to demolish some villages in the New Territories and open up the land for development. It has been met with heavy resistance from the villagers, who stormed the Legislative Council building in June 2014 to try to prevent the passing of a bill that would fund the first phrase of the project. Despite strong protests and a filibuster by pro-democracy councillors, the bill was eventually approved.

Yip Ching visits Sum Suet Lai (Violet Li). She hopes that HKMG can report on the unpublished sex scandal involving Tse Mei Mei from two years ago. Yip Ching promises she can try all legal means to help Sum’s son avoid extradition if she is elected, but Sum points out that she is no longer favored to win. Nonetheless, Sum says that if the news channels report on the sex scandal tomorrow morning, it will mean that she is still placing her bet on Yip Ching.

Next, Yip Ching gets a call from Tse Mei Mei, who demands $5 million to not testify against Cheung. Yip Ching does not give an immediate response.

Sum calls Gei Man Wai (Isabel Chan) to her office and has her film a segment of the news broadcast about the sex scandal. Sum sends the yet-to-be released segment to Song to see what kind of deal he would make to her. Song suddenly excuses himself to go to the washroom, where it is shown that he has a nosebleed. When he returns to the room, he tells Sum that if she does not back the right candidate, her son will be extradited to the USA and HKMG’s license will not be renewed due to a “basket of reasons”.

A “basket of reasons” was used by the government to explain the rejection of HKTV’s application for a TV license.

The next morning, the sex scandal is not reported in the news. Yip Ching quietly goes to take out money from her safety deposit box. At the same time, Cheung goes to Gei’s house. He blackmails her with a tape recording of her trying to coax a government official into spilling secret information and gets her to hand over something that he needs.

The doorbell rings in Tse Mei Mei’s hotel room. She opens the door to find Cheung. He shows her the video clip of her having sex with another man and threatens to release it if she testifies against him in court. Tse Mei Mei knows that she is caught. He gives her some money and urges her to fly to Malaysia to start a new life. When Yip Ching arrives at the hotel, Cheung is waiting for her at the door and tells her that Tse Mei Mei had already gone to the airport.

Song holds a press conference to announce his resignation as a legislative council member in preparation for his election run. Just when he finishes his speech, he feels dizzy as he looks around the room full of reporters….

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This episode recap is written by Miriamfanz, a Contributing Writer at JayneStars.com. Visit Miriamfanz’s blog!