Hong Kong’s subsequent Chief Govt can be Beijing loyalist John Lee

John Lee, a pro-Beijing loyalist who's the only candidate for Hong Kong's high submit, has been elected to be Hong Kong's next chief executive.

Paul Yeung | Bloomberg | Getty Pictures

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

Lee, the only candidate for Hong Kong's prime put up, received 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 chief. Lee only wanted a easy majority to win.

The 64-year-old Lee, who was previously Hong Kong's chief secretary, will begin his five-year term on July 1, replacing 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 governed underneath the "one nation, two techniques" framework, and has restricted election rights and a principally separate legal and economic system.

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

At a press convention after his election, Lee was requested if his performance will probably be "challenged by the dearth 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 legislation is qualified, can take part and run for the election," he added.

Stating that he garnered greater than 1,400 votes, Lee said: "With that number of support, of course, it encourages me and offers me the strong confidence that my route is agreed and shared by a variety of election committee members."

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

Bloomberg | Getty Photos

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

"The selection of Lee, a career police officer who played a leading position within the crackdown on the pro-democracy protests that started in 2019, indicates that Beijing's top priority for Hong Kong is maintaining political safety relatively than preserving its position as a dynamic international hub," they said.

"Lee's appointment will reinforce Hong Kong's shift from being a world financial and enterprise middle to taking part in 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 major 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 attempt to blunt its spread. The town tightened restrictions additional in February as new instances raged, however began easing barely in late April.

The election was earlier postponed due to a surge in Covid cases in the Asian financial hub.

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

John Lee

Hong Kong's incoming chief government

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

"Sure, we have now challenges now due to the necessity to control Covid-19 and some of the measures are indeed creating inconvenience," he acknowledged.

"I make it a really clear level that I am very acutely aware of the should be accessible to the world. And likewise it is an important thing for Hong Kong to be able to resume normal travel with the mainland."

He stated he shall be speaking 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 additionally called on residents to follow the advice and measures of the federal government, and stated the city will seek to boost its vaccination fee. In response to government statistics, greater 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 government Lam congratulated Lee on Sunday.

"I lengthen my honest congratulations to Mr John Lee on his successful election," she stated in a press launch. "The current-term authorities and I will guarantee a seamless transition with the Chief Government-elect. We'll render all the support needed for the belief of office by the new time period of presidency."

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