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

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

Paul Yeung | Bloomberg | Getty Images

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, received 1,416 votes in Sunday's election.

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

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

Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China which returned to Chinese language rule in 1997, after the U.Okay. handed over the former colony to Beijing. It is ruled below the "one nation, two techniques" framework, and has limited election rights and a mostly separate legal and financial system.

Hong Kong's electoral system went via a major overhaul last 12 months after Beijing mentioned that solely so-called "patriots" needs to be allowed to manipulate the town.

At a press convention after his election, Lee was asked if his performance might be "challenged by the shortage 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."

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

Mentioning that he garnered greater than 1,400 votes, Lee mentioned: "With that variety of help, after all, it encourages me and gives me the sturdy 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 city's next chief govt.

Bloomberg | Getty Images

In a observe last 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 role within the crackdown on the pro-democracy protests that started in 2019, indicates that Beijing's top priority for Hong Kong is sustaining political safety slightly than preserving its position as a dynamic world hub," they mentioned.

"Lee's appointment will reinforce Hong Kong's shift from being a worldwide financial and business middle to playing a narrower role as a capital gateway for China," Eurasia's analysts stated. "Whereas the dangers to political and financial stability are modest, Lee's administration may be poorly outfitted to answer a serious 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 try and blunt its unfold. The city tightened restrictions further in February as new instances raged, however began easing slightly in late April.

The election was earlier postponed resulting from a surge in Covid circumstances in the Asian financial hub.

I make it a very clear level that I am very aware of the must be accessible to the world. And also 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 govt

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

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

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

He mentioned he can be speaking to his counterparts in Beijing "to search out out what are the circumstances that shall be required for regular journey to be resumed with the mainland."

Lee also known as on residents to observe the recommendation and measures of the federal government, and mentioned the city will seek to boost its vaccination charge. 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 acquired their second dose.

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

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

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