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

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

Paul Yeung | Bloomberg | Getty Pictures

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

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 brand new leader. Lee only needed 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 Executive 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 former colony to Beijing. It's ruled below the "one nation, two systems" framework, and has restricted election rights and a principally separate authorized and financial system.

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

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

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

"Anyone, who in response to the regulation is certified, can take part and run for the election," he added.

Mentioning that he garnered more than 1,400 votes, Lee said: "With that number of support, in fact, it encourages me and offers me the strong confidence that my course 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 subsequent chief govt.

Bloomberg | Getty Pictures

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

"The choice of Lee, a career police officer who performed a leading function within the crackdown on the pro-democracy protests that started in 2019, indicates that Beijing's top precedence for Hong Kong is sustaining political safety quite than preserving its position as a dynamic global hub," they said.

"Lee's appointment will reinforce Hong Kong's shift from being a worldwide financial and enterprise center 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 geared up to respond to a significant 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. The city tightened restrictions further in February as new instances raged, but began easing slightly in late April.

The election was earlier postponed attributable to a surge in Covid circumstances in the Asian financial hub.

I make it a really clear level that I'm very acutely aware of the have 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 conference, Lee was additionally requested how he will show the international community that Hong Kong is open for business.

"Sure, we now have challenges now due to the need to control Covid-19 and among the measures are certainly creating inconvenience," he acknowledged.

"I make it a very clear point that I'm very aware of the need to be accessible to the world. And likewise it is a vital factor for Hong Kong to have the ability to resume regular travel with the mainland."

He stated he will probably be speaking to his counterparts in Beijing "to find out what are the circumstances that will likely be required for normal travel to be resumed with the mainland."

Lee also called on citizens to follow the recommendation and measures of the federal government, and said the town will seek to boost its vaccination price. In keeping with authorities statistics, greater than 91% of the population 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 said in a press release. "The present-term government and I'll guarantee a seamless transition with the Chief Executive-elect. We'll render all of the help needed for the idea of office 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 executive election. An earlier model of the story misrepresented that figure.