Hong Kong’s subsequent Chief Executive shall be Beijing loyalist John Lee

John Lee, a pro-Beijing loyalist who is the only candidate for Hong Kong's top post, has been elected to be Hong Kong's subsequent chief government.

Paul Yeung | Bloomberg | Getty Images

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

Lee, the only candidate for Hong Kong's high put up, received 1,416 votes in Sunday's election.

About 1,500 members of a largely pro-Beijing election committee forged their votes to select the new chief. Lee only wanted a easy majority to win.

The 64-year-old Lee, who was previously Hong Kong's chief secretary, will begin his five-year time period on July 1, changing outgoing Chief Government Carrie Lam.

Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China which returned to Chinese rule in 1997, after the U.Ok. handed over the former colony to Beijing. It is governed beneath the "one country, two methods" framework, and has restricted election rights and a mostly separate legal and financial system.

Hong Kong's electoral system went by a major overhaul last year after Beijing stated that only so-called "patriots" should be allowed to control the city.

At a press convention after his election, Lee was asked 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 laws of Hong Kong."

"Anyone, who based on the regulation is qualified, can participate and run for the election," he added.

Mentioning that he garnered greater than 1,400 votes, Lee mentioned: "With that variety of assist, in fact, it encourages me and offers me the sturdy confidence that my course 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 government.

Bloomberg | Getty Images

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

"The selection of Lee, a profession police officer who played a leading role within the crackdown on the pro-democracy protests that started in 2019, indicates that Beijing's high precedence for Hong Kong is sustaining political security reasonably than preserving its role as a dynamic international hub," they stated.

"Lee's appointment will reinforce Hong Kong's shift from being a world financial and business center to enjoying a narrower role as a capital gateway for China," Eurasia's analysts stated. "While the dangers to political and monetary stability are modest, Lee's administration may be poorly geared up to reply to a significant 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 and blunt its spread. Town tightened restrictions additional in February as new circumstances raged, but started easing barely in late April.

The election was earlier postponed due to a surge in Covid cases in the Asian monetary hub.

I make it a really clear level that I am very acutely aware of the have to be accessible to the world. And also 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 govt

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

"Yes, we now have challenges now due to the necessity to control Covid-19 and among the measures are certainly creating inconvenience," he acknowledged.

"I make it a very clear level that I'm 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 mentioned he will likely be talking to his counterparts in Beijing "to find out what are the conditions that shall be required for normal journey to be resumed with the mainland."

Lee additionally called on citizens to follow the advice and measures of the government, and mentioned the town will seek to boost its vaccination rate. In response to government 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 government Lam congratulated Lee on Sunday.

"I extend my honest congratulations to Mr John Lee on his profitable election," she said in a press launch. "The current-term authorities and I will guarantee a seamless transition with the Chief Govt-elect. We are going to render all the assist wanted for the belief of office by the new term of government."

Correction: This story has been up to date to replicate that John Lee won 1,416 votes in Hong Kong's chief govt election. An earlier version of the story misrepresented that determine.