葉國謙
Campaign slogan and advertisement by LSD and Civic party calling for "uprising of the people" (全民起義), attracted media attention and the ire of Beijing. Reception of the slogan was particularly negative by the pro-Beijing camp. Rita Fan attacked the term saying it would set a dangerous precedent by misleading the public over the purpose of the by-elections. She said anyone who has studied Chinese history would know that the word "uprising" convey an image of revolution, blood, and violence and that it would make people think of social turmoil, hardship and chaos. Maria Tam said an uprising usually refers to overthrowing the government through violence, and Former Secretary for Justice Elsie Leung warned of anarchy. Ip Kwok-him, Deputy Chairman of the DAB, said the slogan was seditious; but Audrey Eu said it was an attempt to intimidate the Hong Kong people. Eu said that the 4 Chinese characters do not refer to a violent revolution and that the resignation is not a ploy to seek independence of Hong Kong; Wong Yuk-man emphasised it as a "peaceful uprising". Gordon Wu said the Civic Party and the LSD were destabilising Hong Kong by resigning, and likened the call for people to rise up to action taken by red guards during the Cultural Revolution. Wu said: "Uprising is something very thrilling - although we have not reached the stage of armed struggle." Organisers for the resigners dismissed the criticism as tactics aimed at dampening turnout for the by-elections.