JOHN LEE, A BEIJING-ALIGNED LEADER, ELECTED TO LEAD HONG KONG

Sun 08 May 2022:

An electoral committee of over 1,500 mostly pro-Beijing members elected John Lee as Hong Kong’s next leader on Sunday.

In the election for chief executive, Lee received 1,416 votes, greatly above the required 751 votes. Over 97 percent of the members of the Election Committee voted in a secret ballot on Sunday morning.

Lee was expected to win as the lone contender in the polls, especially given he had Beijing’s support and received 786 nominations from members of the Election Committee last month in support of his campaign.

Lee will replace current leader Carrie Lam on July 1.

On Sunday morning, three members of the League of Social Democrats, a local activist group, protested the election by attempting to march toward the election venue while displaying a banner demanding universal suffrage that would allow Hong Kongers to vote both for the legislature and the chief executive.

“Human rights over power, the people are greater than the country,” the banner read. “One person, one vote for the chief executive. Immediately implement dual universal suffrage.”

The pro-democracy camp in Hong Kong has long demanded universal suffrage, which they say is promised to the city in its mini-constitution, the Basic Law. It was also a key demand in the 2014 Umbrella Revolution protests and 2019 anti-government demonstrations.

Some critics believe Lee’s efforts to relaunch Hong Kong globally may be hampered by US sanctions placed on him in 2020 for his role in “coercing, arresting, detaining, or imprisoning individuals” under the security law, according to Washington.

According to YouTube owner Alphabet Inc, the Lee campaign’s YouTube account was taken down to comply with US penalty laws.

Lee, who has stated that implementing more national security measures for Hong Kong will be a top priority, has frequently stated that Hong Kong is a law-abiding society where everyone must follow the law.

Lee has stated that one of his top tasks will be to restructure the government in order to improve policymaking and increase housing supply in one of the world’s most expensive housing markets.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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