Hong Kong’s subsequent Chief Government shall be Beijing loyalist John Lee

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

Paul Yeung | Bloomberg | Getty Images

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

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

About 1,500 members of a largely pro-Beijing election committee forged their votes to pick out the new chief. Lee solely wanted 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, replacing outgoing Chief Executive Carrie Lam.

Hong Kong is a particular administrative region of China which returned to Chinese rule in 1997, after the U.Okay. handed over the previous colony to Beijing. It is ruled underneath the "one nation, two systems" framework, and has restricted election rights and a largely separate authorized and financial system.

Hong Kong's electoral system went by way of a serious overhaul last yr after Beijing said that solely so-called "patriots" needs to be allowed to control the city.

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

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

"Anybody, who in line with the law is qualified, can take part and run for the election," he added.

Pointing out that he garnered greater than 1,400 votes, Lee mentioned: "With that number of assist, in fact, it encourages me and provides me the robust confidence that my direction is agreed and shared by loads of election committee members."

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

Bloomberg | Getty Photographs

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

"The choice of Lee, a career police officer who played a number one position within the crackdown on the pro-democracy protests that began in 2019, indicates that Beijing's prime priority for Hong Kong is maintaining political safety quite than preserving its role as a dynamic global hub," they stated.

"Lee's appointment will reinforce Hong Kong's shift from being a world financial and business middle to enjoying a narrower position as a capital gateway for China," Eurasia's analysts stated. "Whereas the risks to political and financial stability are modest, Lee's administration may be poorly geared up to reply to a major shock."

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

The election was earlier postponed resulting from a surge in Covid cases within the Asian monetary hub.

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 normal travel with the mainland.

John Lee

Hong Kong's incoming chief executive

On the press conference, Lee was also requested how he'll present the worldwide neighborhood that Hong Kong is open for enterprise.

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

"I make it a really clear point that I am very acutely aware of the have to be accessible to the world. And also it is a crucial thing for Hong Kong to have the ability to resume regular travel with the mainland."

He mentioned he will be talking to his counterparts in Beijing "to search out out what are the conditions that will likely be required for normal journey to be resumed with the mainland."

Lee also called on citizens to observe the advice and measures of the government, and mentioned the town will search to spice up its vaccination fee. In keeping with authorities statistics, more than 91% of the inhabitants above the age of 12 have obtained their first vaccine dose as of Saturday, and 85.2% have acquired their second dose.

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

"I prolong my honest congratulations to Mr John Lee on his profitable election," she mentioned 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 the support wanted for the idea of workplace by the brand new time period of presidency."

Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that John Lee received 1,416 votes in Hong Kong's chief government election. An earlier model of the story misrepresented that determine.