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

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

Paul Yeung | Bloomberg | Getty Pictures

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

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

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

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

Hong Kong is a particular 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 ruled underneath the "one country, two methods" framework, and has restricted election rights and a largely separate authorized and financial system.

Hong Kong's electoral system went by means of a significant overhaul last year after Beijing said that solely so-called "patriots" must be allowed to govern the town.

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

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

"Anybody, who based on the legislation is certified, can participate and run for the election," he added.

Mentioning that he garnered more than 1,400 votes, Lee mentioned: "With that variety of support, in fact, it encourages me and provides me the strong confidence that my direction is agreed and shared by quite a lot of election committee members."

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

Bloomberg | Getty Photographs

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

"The number of Lee, a career police officer who played a leading role within the crackdown on the pro-democracy protests that began in 2019, indicates that Beijing's top priority for Hong Kong is sustaining political security reasonably than preserving its role as a dynamic world hub," they said.

"Lee's appointment will reinforce Hong Kong's shift from being a worldwide monetary and business middle to playing a narrower role as a capital gateway for China," Eurasia's analysts mentioned. "Whereas the risks to political and monetary stability are modest, Lee's administration could also be poorly geared up to answer a significant shock."

In line 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 city tightened restrictions additional in February as new cases raged, but started easing barely in late April.

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

I make it a really clear point that I am very aware of the should be accessible to the world. And in addition it is a crucial factor for Hong Kong to be able to resume regular journey with the mainland.

John Lee

Hong Kong's incoming chief government

On the press conference, Lee was also asked how he'll show the international group that Hong Kong is open for enterprise.

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

"I make it a very clear point that I am very acutely aware of the must be accessible to the world. And likewise it is a crucial factor for Hong Kong to be able to resume normal travel with the mainland."

He stated he might be talking to his counterparts in Beijing "to search out out what are the circumstances that will be required for normal travel to be resumed with the mainland."

Lee additionally called on citizens to comply with the recommendation and measures of the federal government, and stated the city will search to boost its vaccination rate. In accordance with authorities statistics, more than 91% of the inhabitants above the age of 12 have acquired their first vaccine dose as of Saturday, and 85.2% have acquired their second dose.

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

"I prolong my sincere congratulations to Mr John Lee on his successful election," she mentioned in a press release. "The current-term authorities and I'll ensure a seamless transition with the Chief Executive-elect. We are going to render all of the support wanted for the belief of office by the new time period of presidency."

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