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

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

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 post, won 1,416 votes in Sunday's election.

About 1,500 members of a largely pro-Beijing election committee forged their votes to select the brand new leader. 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, replacing outgoing Chief Executive Carrie Lam.

Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China which returned to Chinese rule in 1997, after the U.Okay. handed over the previous colony to Beijing. It's ruled underneath the "one nation, two systems" 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 year after Beijing stated that only so-called "patriots" should be allowed to control the town.

At a press conference after his election, Lee was asked if his efficiency will probably be "challenged by the dearth of electoral mandate and legitimacy in the eyes of some individuals."

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

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

Pointing out that he garnered greater than 1,400 votes, Lee mentioned: "With that variety of help, in fact, it encourages me and gives me the strong confidence that my direction is agreed and shared by lots of election committee members."

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

Bloomberg | Getty Photographs

In a word final week, analysts at Eurasia Group weighed in on Beijing's choice of Lee as the next Hong Kong leader.

"The collection of Lee, a profession police officer who played a leading position in the crackdown on the pro-democracy protests that began in 2019, signifies that Beijing's top precedence for Hong Kong is sustaining political safety fairly than preserving its role as a dynamic international hub," they mentioned.

"Lee's appointment will reinforce Hong Kong's shift from being a world financial and enterprise middle to playing a narrower position as a capital gateway for China," Eurasia's analysts stated. "While the dangers to political and monetary stability are modest, Lee's administration could also be poorly geared up to reply to a major shock."

Consistent with China's Covid-19 coverage, 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 further in February as new cases raged, but started easing barely in late April.

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

I make it a very clear point that I'm very conscious of the need to be accessible to the world. And in addition it is an important factor for Hong Kong to have the ability to resume regular travel with the mainland.

John Lee

Hong Kong's incoming chief govt

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

"Yes, we've challenges now due to the necessity to control Covid-19 and some of the measures are certainly creating inconvenience," he acknowledged.

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

He mentioned he can be speaking to his counterparts in Beijing "to find out what are the situations that will probably be required for regular travel to be resumed with the mainland."

Lee additionally referred to as on residents to observe the recommendation and measures of the government, and mentioned town will seek to boost its vaccination rate. According to government statistics, greater than 91% of the inhabitants above the age of 12 have obtained their first vaccine dose as of Saturday, and 85.2% have obtained their second dose.

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

"I prolong my sincere congratulations to Mr John Lee on his successful election," she mentioned in a press launch. "The present-term authorities and I will ensure a seamless transition with the Chief Govt-elect. We will render all of the help needed for the assumption of office by the new time period of government."

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