The cost to Leung has been high. From his tiny public-housing flat, he plots an ambitious course, determined to prevent exploitation of the underclasses. He wants an end to one-party rule in China, full democracy in Hong Kong and a reversal of Beijing's verdict on the 1989 Tiananmen killings. His electoral near-success hasn't softened his Trotskyite stance. It can happen in Hong Kong.
More people are now willing to listen to the man many once regarded with contempt or annoyance.
Leung's polls performance gives him legitimacy, and his media columns often strike a popular chord on topical issues. Leung's long hair, shorn when he was briefly jailed in May for interrupting a Tung speech in the legislature, is growing back. But even when it's back to shoulder length, he won't stand out so much any more. And radicalism like that will provide targets for Long Hair's protests for years to come. E-mail is anything but private.