Hong Kong’s next Chief Executive will be Beijing loyalist John Lee

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

Paul Yeung | Bloomberg | Getty Images

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

Lee, the one candidate for Hong Kong's top post, won 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 leader. Lee only needed 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 region of China which returned to Chinese language rule in 1997, after the U.Ok. handed over the previous colony to Beijing. It's governed below the "one nation, two methods" framework, and has limited election rights and a largely separate authorized and economic system.

Hong Kong's electoral system went through a significant overhaul final 12 months after Beijing stated that only so-called "patriots" must be allowed to manipulate the town.

At a press convention after his election, Lee was requested if his efficiency shall be "challenged by the shortage of electoral mandate and legitimacy within the eyes of some individuals."

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

"Anyone, who in response to the regulation is certified, can take part and run for the election," he added.

Pointing out that he garnered greater than 1,400 votes, Lee said: "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 next chief govt.

Bloomberg | Getty Pictures

In a be aware final week, analysts at Eurasia Group weighed in on Beijing's choice of Lee as the subsequent Hong Kong chief.

"The choice of Lee, a profession police officer who performed a leading position in the crackdown on the pro-democracy protests that began in 2019, signifies that Beijing's top precedence for Hong Kong is maintaining political security quite than preserving its role as a dynamic global hub," they said.

"Lee's appointment will reinforce Hong Kong's shift from being a world monetary and business middle to enjoying a narrower role as a capital gateway for China," Eurasia's analysts said. "While the risks to political and monetary stability are modest, Lee's administration may be poorly geared up to respond to a serious shock."

According to China's Covid-19 coverage, Hong Kong has a so-called "dynamic zero" technique for the virus and imposed strict measures in January in an try to blunt its unfold. Town tightened restrictions further in February as new instances raged, but started easing slightly in late April.

The election was earlier postponed as a consequence of a surge in Covid instances within the Asian financial hub.

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

John Lee

Hong Kong's incoming chief government

At the press conference, Lee was also requested how he'll show the international neighborhood that Hong Kong is open for enterprise.

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

"I make it a very clear point that I am very aware of the must be accessible to the world. And also it is a crucial thing for Hong Kong to have the ability to resume regular journey with the mainland."

He said he shall be talking to his counterparts in Beijing "to search out out what are the situations that will probably be required for regular journey to be resumed with the mainland."

Lee also called on citizens to follow the recommendation and measures of the government, and stated the town will search to boost its vaccination rate. In keeping with authorities statistics, greater than 91% of the population 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 govt 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 Executive-elect. We will render all of the support needed for the idea of workplace by the brand new time period of presidency."

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