The expected appointment of 64-year-old Lee as Hong Kong’s fifth chief executive since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997 was almost certain this week after incumbent Carrie Lam announced she would not run for a second five-year term. . Even before Li confirmed his desire to replace her, Chinese Communist Party officials in the country instructed a 1,500-seat “patriotic only” electoral commission to support him in the May 8 election. Assuming everything goes according to plan, Lee, who is currently the second highest-ranking Hong Kong official, will be sworn in on July 1st. This is exactly halfway through the 50 years of “one country, two systems” autonomy that Beijing has guaranteed to Hong Kong. It will inherit a city that has changed dramatically in recent years, the previously strong freedoms and troubled civil society decimated by the national security law imposed two years ago by Chinese President Xi Jinping. Hong Kong’s position as one of the world’s major international financial centers also hangs in the balance, as Xi’s strict controls on the “zero Covid” pandemic cut it off from both the outside world and the Chinese hinterland. “John points to the importance of security and a stable environment in Hong Kong,” said Ronny Tong, a cabinet member who advises Lam. He added that if Beijing had chosen to back Lam’s finance secretary, Paul Chan, it would have shown that the Xi government was “putting the economic recovery at the forefront” of Hong Kong’s political agenda. According to Tong, “John and Paul represent two completely different approaches.” From a mediocre background, Lee excelled academically and earned a place in the School of Engineering at the University of Hong Kong. But he never took over, instead joining the police force immediately after high school in 1977. After that, Lee disappeared into the body for most of the 40 years before he entered politics late, where he became known as Lam’s security secretary in 2017. “It simply came to our notice then. “People do not know much about him.” In a city where official asset declarations often reveal huge portfolios of real estate and exclusive memberships in civil servants’ clubs, Lee owns an apartment in a relatively quiet neighborhood and belongs to a handful of police associations. Had it not been for Lam’s two historic blunders that put an end to her hopes of serving a second term, Lee might have faded into a quiet retirement. Ironically, in the light of his impending promotion, he was closely involved in both. In 2019, Lam proposed legislation that would allow Hong Kong residents to be extradited to mainland China if the authorities there so wished. As security secretary, Lee has been pushing hard for the controversial bill. It turned out to be a catastrophic misunderstanding of the public mood, sparking the largest pro-democracy movement on Chinese soil since the 1989 protests in Tiananmen Square. Cong. The bill was reluctantly withdrawn by the government. Then, after the Covid-19 explosion from central China in January 2020, the Lam administration failed to vaccinate quite vulnerable Hong Kong seniors. When the region’s previously effective defenses were overrun by the Omicron variant earlier this year, more than 8,000 people died in just three months. By that time Lee had been promoted to secretary general and played a key role in the troubled response. In the end, Lee was rewarded for helping to crush the pro-democracy movement by correcting Lam’s first mistake in Beijing’s eyes. This was made easier by the national security law handed to him by Xi in June 2020. Lee used it without apology against lawmakers and pro-democracy activists, dozens of whom are now in prison or in exile. Its promotion is a message that Beijing sees this process far from over. After the Trump administration imposed sanctions on him, Lam and other senior officials for helping and inciting Xi to “degrade Hong Kong autonomy,” Lee replied: “I do not care. . . make fun of [the sanctions]. I despise them. “ “In the eyes of the central government, John Lee can count on keeping Hong Kong stable and safe from the challenges posed by foreign powers,” said Lau, a member of the election commission. While a pro-Beijing businessman says that “it is not what you know the inside and outside of the economy [Lee] is well known for this “, he and other supporters argue that the pending CEO can delegate financial and financial decisions to people who do. That way, Lee can continue to focus on security and stability – Beijing-style – which they believe is a prerequisite for getting Hong Kong out of the Covid Zero coma. “Undoubtedly, finances are not John Lee’s strength,” agrees Ip Kwok-him, a cabinet member who believes he will “lead the city well” regardless. After all, economics and finance know-how is not what China is looking for in Hong Kong’s next CEO. [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
