Hong Kong’s next Chief Executive can be Beijing loyalist John Lee

John Lee, a pro-Beijing loyalist who's the only candidate for Hong Kong's prime post, has been elected to be Hong Kong's subsequent chief government.

Paul Yeung | Bloomberg | Getty Photographs

John Lee, a Beijing loyalist, has been elected to be Hong Kong's subsequent chief executive.

Lee, the one candidate for Hong Kong's top publish, won 1,416 votes in Sunday's election.

About 1,500 members of a largely pro-Beijing election committee forged their votes to select the brand new chief. Lee solely needed a easy majority to win.

The 64-year-old Lee, who was previously Hong Kong's chief secretary, will begin his five-year time period on July 1, changing outgoing Chief Government Carrie Lam.

Hong Kong is a special administrative area of China which returned to Chinese language rule in 1997, after the U.Okay. handed over the former colony to Beijing. It is governed beneath the "one nation, two programs" framework, and has limited election rights and a principally separate authorized and financial system.

Hong Kong's electoral system went by means of a major overhaul last 12 months after Beijing said that solely so-called "patriots" ought to be allowed to manipulate town.

At a press conference after his election, Lee was requested if his performance will probably be "challenged by the dearth of electoral mandate and legitimacy in the eyes of some people."

His reply was that his election was "run in accordance with the legal guidelines of Hong Kong."

"Anyone, who based on the legislation is certified, can take part and run for the election," he added.

Mentioning that he garnered greater than 1,400 votes, Lee said: "With that number of support, in fact, it encourages me and offers me the sturdy confidence that my direction is agreed and shared by lots of election committee members."

John Lee, a Beijing loyalist, has been picked to be the city's subsequent chief government.

Bloomberg | Getty Images

In a note last week, analysts at Eurasia Group weighed in on Beijing's selection of Lee as the subsequent Hong Kong chief.

"The selection of Lee, a career police officer who performed a number one position within the crackdown on the pro-democracy protests that began in 2019, signifies that Beijing's top precedence for Hong Kong is maintaining political security fairly than preserving its role as a dynamic international hub," they mentioned.

"Lee's appointment will reinforce Hong Kong's shift from being a global financial and enterprise middle to playing a narrower function as a capital gateway for China," Eurasia's analysts said. "While the risks to political and financial stability are modest, Lee's administration may be poorly equipped to reply to a major shock."

Consistent with China's Covid-19 coverage, Hong Kong has a so-called "dynamic zero" strategy for the virus and imposed strict measures in January in an attempt to blunt its unfold. Town tightened restrictions further in February as new cases raged, but started easing barely in late April.

The election was earlier postponed on account of a surge in Covid instances within the Asian financial hub.

I make it a really clear level that I am very conscious of the must be accessible to the world. And in addition it is a vital factor for Hong Kong to be able to resume regular travel with the mainland.

John Lee

Hong Kong's incoming chief government

On the press conference, Lee was additionally asked how he'll show the worldwide neighborhood that Hong Kong is open for business.

"Yes, we now have challenges now because of the need to management Covid-19 and a few of the measures are certainly creating inconvenience," he acknowledged.

"I make it a really clear point that I'm very acutely aware of the need to be accessible to the world. And also it is an important thing for Hong Kong to be able to resume regular journey with the mainland."

He stated he shall be talking to his counterparts in Beijing "to find out what are the situations that can be required for regular travel to be resumed with the mainland."

Lee additionally known as on citizens to observe the advice and measures of the government, and said town will seek to boost its vaccination rate. In accordance with authorities statistics, greater than 91% of the population above the age of 12 have acquired their first vaccine dose as of Saturday, and 85.2% have received their second dose.

Hong Kong's outgoing chief govt Lam congratulated Lee on Sunday.

"I extend my honest congratulations to Mr John Lee on his successful election," she stated in a press release. "The current-term authorities and I will guarantee a seamless transition with the Chief Executive-elect. We'll render all the support wanted for the belief of workplace by the brand new time period of government."

Correction: This story has been updated to replicate that John Lee won 1,416 votes in Hong Kong's chief govt election. An earlier version of the story misrepresented that determine.