Two incumbent Hong Kong lawmakers faced scrutiny from a newcomer over their commitment to addressing urgent public transport issues in east Kowloon, sparking a minor dispute at the fifth government-hosted Legislative Council election forum.

Five candidates vying for two seats in the Kowloon East constituency presented their policy initiatives at the forum on Thursday morning, focusing on cultural and creative industry development and how to transform the area into a new central business district (CBD).

During the debate, the host questioned whether turning eastern Kowloon into a business district remained viable given the area’s traffic congestion and ageing population, and asked how the candidates would approach this goal. The Kowloon East constituency covers Kwun Tong and the southwestern part of Wong Tai Sin.

Jeffrey Chan Chun-hung, who did not declare his political affiliation to local think tank PoD Research Institute in the nomination forms, challenged the two incumbent legislators on their commitment to solving pressing transport issues in the constituency.

“I support the East Kowloon Line too,” he said, referring to a high-rise light rail system to be built in the area. “But I would like to ask [the two incumbent lawmakers], since this project can only be put into use in 2033 at the earliest, why don’t you do more to increase the frequencies of buses, which is the more pressing demand from our residents?”

The two incumbent Legco members, Tang Ka-piu from the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions and Frankie Ngan Man-yu from the city’s largest political party, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), did not initially address Chan’s questions, and instead spoke of how they had contributed to the development of the rail system.