Hong Kong appointed John Lee as the new chief executive as the city’s “election committee”, made up of 1,461 people which roughly account for the 0.02% of the city’s population, unanimously voted for him.
Detractors of John Lee – the former security chief who helped the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) crack down on Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement – say this was a rubber-stamp vote since most of the 1,461 members are pro-Beijing.
Following his election, Lee in his speech said that ‘under the principle of only patriots administering Hong Kong, there will be many people who have passion and who will devote themselves to serving Hong Kong’. Toeing the CCP line he said that there are some hidden forces who are attempting to destabilise Hong Kong.
John Lee Ka-chiu faces US sanctions for his role in cracking down on pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong and he has slammed the US for its criticism of Beijing. “Loyalty is the basic requirement for a chief executive who must be patriotic,” Lee said ahead of his win.
Chinese president Xi Jinping, who himself is eyeing a smooth transition into his precedent, is also scheduled to attend the swearing-in ceremony on July 1. The date is also significant as it marks the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to Chinese rule from Britain. This will be Xi’s first trip out of mainland China in more than two years.
For China, Lee is the gatekeeper as Hong Kong serves a bridge between the west and China. Even though Lee is being seen as a hardliner, he has talked of reopening Hong Kong’s borders with mainland China and the rest of the world being his priority upon being chosen. He said that ‘quarantine free travel’ between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong will be his first priority.
The CCP has issued its set of objectives for John Lee. It is likely that one of the primary objectives for Lee will be to help Beijing smother expression of dissenting views. “We should have a deeper understanding of the ‘one country, two systems’ raised and practised under CPC leadership,” Lee said last year.
But Lee has to restore the trust of international companies as strict Covid-19 curbs in Hong Kong have hurt its reputation as a business hub but he also has to balance democratic aspirations of the city’s residents with the set of objectives that the CCP has handed over to him.
John Lee will act as a gatekeeper for Xi Jinping as Hong Kong often acts a bridge between the West, rest of the world and Beijing.
(with inputs from Nikkei Asia, the Guardian and Global Times)
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