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

John Lee, a pro-Beijing loyalist who is the only candidate for Hong Kong's prime post, 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 one 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 solid their votes to select the new leader. Lee only wanted a simple majority to win.

The 64-year-old Lee, who was formerly Hong Kong's chief secretary, will start his five-year time period on July 1, changing outgoing Chief Government 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 previous colony to Beijing. It is governed below the "one nation, two systems" framework, and has restricted election rights and a largely separate authorized and financial system.

Hong Kong's electoral system went through a significant overhaul final 12 months after Beijing mentioned that solely so-called "patriots" should be allowed to control the city.

At a press conference after his election, Lee was requested if his performance shall be "challenged by the shortage 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 according 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 stated: "With that number of help, after all, it encourages me and provides me the strong confidence that my route is agreed and shared by a whole lot of election committee members."

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

Bloomberg | Getty Photographs

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

"The number of Lee, a profession police officer who performed a leading role within the crackdown on the pro-democracy protests that began in 2019, signifies that Beijing's top precedence for Hong Kong is maintaining political safety rather than preserving its role as a dynamic world hub," they stated.

"Lee's appointment will reinforce Hong Kong's shift from being a global financial and enterprise heart to enjoying a narrower position as a capital gateway for China," Eurasia's analysts mentioned. "Whereas the risks to political and financial stability are modest, Lee's administration may be poorly geared up to respond to a serious 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 try to blunt its unfold. The town tightened restrictions further in February as new instances raged, but began easing slightly in late April.

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

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

John Lee

Hong Kong's incoming chief govt

At the press convention, Lee was additionally requested how he will show the international neighborhood that Hong Kong is open for enterprise.

"Yes, we've got challenges now due to the need 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 must be accessible to the world. And likewise it is a vital thing for Hong Kong to have the ability to resume regular journey with the mainland."

He stated he will probably be talking 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 also known as on residents to comply with the recommendation and measures of the federal government, and stated town will search to boost its vaccination charge. In keeping with authorities statistics, more 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 govt Lam congratulated Lee on Sunday.

"I lengthen my honest congratulations to Mr John Lee on his successful election," she said in a press release. "The current-term government and I will ensure a seamless transition with the Chief Govt-elect. We will render all of the help wanted for the assumption of workplace by the new time period of government."

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