Hong Kong’s subsequent Chief Government will be Beijing loyalist John Lee

John Lee, a pro-Beijing loyalist who's the only candidate for Hong Kong's high publish, 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 executive.

Lee, the only candidate for Hong Kong's prime post, gained 1,416 votes in Sunday's election.

About 1,500 members of a largely pro-Beijing election committee cast their votes to pick out the new chief. Lee only needed 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, replacing outgoing Chief Executive Carrie Lam.

Hong Kong is a special administrative area of China which returned to Chinese rule in 1997, after the U.Ok. handed over the former colony to Beijing. It's ruled below the "one country, two systems" framework, and has restricted election rights and a mostly separate authorized and financial system.

Hong Kong's electoral system went via a serious overhaul last year after Beijing mentioned that solely so-called "patriots" must be allowed to manipulate the city.

At a press convention after his election, Lee was asked if his performance will likely be "challenged by the lack of electoral mandate and legitimacy in the eyes of some people."

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

"Anybody, who according to the law is certified, can participate and run for the election," he added.

Declaring that he garnered greater than 1,400 votes, Lee stated: "With that number of support, in fact, it encourages me and provides me the sturdy confidence that my path is agreed and shared by quite a lot of election committee members."

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

Bloomberg | Getty Images

In a notice final week, analysts at Eurasia Group weighed in on Beijing's alternative of Lee as the following Hong Kong chief.

"The choice of Lee, a career police officer who played a leading role within the crackdown on the pro-democracy protests that began in 2019, signifies that Beijing's prime precedence for Hong Kong is maintaining political security somewhat than preserving its function as a dynamic world hub," they mentioned.

"Lee's appointment will reinforce Hong Kong's shift from being a world monetary and enterprise middle to playing a narrower role as a capital gateway for China," Eurasia's analysts said. "While the risks to political and financial stability are modest, Lee's administration could also be poorly equipped to answer a serious shock."

Consistent with China's Covid-19 coverage, 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 additional in February as new instances raged, however started easing slightly in late April.

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

I make it a really clear level that I am very acutely aware of the must be accessible to the world. And likewise it is a vital factor for Hong Kong to have the ability to resume normal journey with the mainland.

John Lee

Hong Kong's incoming chief executive

On the press conference, Lee was additionally asked how he will show the international community that Hong Kong is open for business.

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

"I make it a really clear level that I'm very conscious of the must be accessible to the world. And also it is an important factor for Hong Kong to be able to resume normal journey with the mainland."

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

Lee additionally called on citizens to follow the advice and measures of the federal government, and said the town will seek to boost its vaccination fee. In line with authorities 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 received their second dose.

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

"I extend my honest congratulations to Mr John Lee on his profitable election," she stated in a press launch. "The present-term government and I'll ensure a seamless transition with the Chief Government-elect. We will render all 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 received 1,416 votes in Hong Kong's chief executive election. An earlier model of the story misrepresented that determine.