Hong Kong’s next Chief Govt shall be Beijing loyalist John Lee

John Lee, a pro-Beijing loyalist who's the one candidate for Hong Kong's top publish, has been elected to be Hong Kong's next chief govt.

Paul Yeung | Bloomberg | Getty Images

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

Lee, the one candidate for Hong Kong's high put up, gained 1,416 votes in Sunday's election.

About 1,500 members of a largely pro-Beijing election committee solid their votes to select the brand new chief. Lee only wanted a simple majority to win.

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

Hong Kong is a special administrative area of China which returned to Chinese rule in 1997, after the U.K. handed over the previous colony to Beijing. It's governed under the "one country, two programs" framework, and has restricted election rights and a mostly separate legal and economic system.

Hong Kong's electoral system went via a significant overhaul final yr after Beijing said that solely so-called "patriots" needs to be allowed to manipulate the city.

At a press convention after his election, Lee was asked if his performance might be "challenged by the lack of electoral mandate and legitimacy in the eyes of some folks."

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

"Anybody, who in accordance with the regulation is qualified, can participate and run for the election," he added.

Declaring that he garnered more than 1,400 votes, Lee stated: "With that number of assist, after all, it encourages me and provides me the sturdy confidence that my route is agreed and shared by plenty of election committee members."

John Lee, a Beijing loyalist, has been picked to be town's next chief govt.

Bloomberg | Getty Photos

In a be aware final week, analysts at Eurasia Group weighed in on Beijing's selection of Lee as the following Hong Kong leader.

"The collection of Lee, a career police officer who performed a leading position within the crackdown on the pro-democracy protests that began in 2019, signifies that Beijing's top priority for Hong Kong is maintaining political security moderately than preserving its function as a dynamic international hub," they stated.

"Lee's appointment will reinforce Hong Kong's shift from being a world financial and business heart to enjoying a narrower function as a capital gateway for China," Eurasia's analysts mentioned. "While the dangers to political and financial stability are modest, Lee's administration could also be poorly geared up to answer a serious shock."

In keeping with China's Covid-19 policy, Hong Kong has a so-called "dynamic zero" technique for the virus and imposed strict measures in January in an try to blunt its spread. The town tightened restrictions further in February as new circumstances raged, but started easing barely in late April.

The election was earlier postponed because of a surge in Covid circumstances within the Asian financial hub.

I make it a very clear level that I'm very acutely aware of the need to be accessible to the world. And in addition it is an important factor for Hong Kong to be able to resume normal travel with the mainland.

John Lee

Hong Kong's incoming chief government

At the press convention, Lee was also requested how he'll show the worldwide community that Hong Kong is open for enterprise.

"Sure, we have now challenges now because of the necessity to management Covid-19 and some of the measures are certainly creating inconvenience," he acknowledged.

"I make it a really clear point that I am very acutely aware of the need to be accessible to the world. And in addition it is an important thing for Hong Kong to be able to resume normal travel with the mainland."

He stated he can be talking to his counterparts in Beijing "to find out what are the circumstances that will likely be required for regular journey to be resumed with the mainland."

Lee also known as on residents to observe the advice and measures of the government, and mentioned town will seek to spice up its vaccination rate. In keeping with government statistics, greater than 91% of the inhabitants above the age of 12 have received their first vaccine dose as of Saturday, and 85.2% have obtained their second dose.

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

"I lengthen my honest congratulations to Mr John Lee on his profitable election," she stated in a press launch. "The present-term government and I will ensure a seamless transition with the Chief Executive-elect. We are going to render all of the help needed for the belief of office by the new term of government."

Correction: This story has been up to date to mirror that John Lee received 1,416 votes in Hong Kong's chief govt election. An earlier version of the story misrepresented that figure.