Hong Kong’s subsequent Chief Government 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 subsequent chief govt.

Paul Yeung | Bloomberg | Getty Pictures

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

Lee, the one candidate for Hong Kong's prime submit, won 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 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, replacing 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 former colony to Beijing. It is governed beneath the "one country, two techniques" framework, and has restricted election rights and a principally separate authorized and financial system.

Hong Kong's electoral system went by a serious overhaul last year after Beijing mentioned that only so-called "patriots" ought to be allowed to manipulate the town.

At a press conference after his election, Lee was asked if his performance will be "challenged by the lack 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."

"Anybody, who based on the law is certified, can take part and run for the election," he added.

Declaring that he garnered more than 1,400 votes, Lee mentioned: "With that variety of support, in fact, it encourages me and offers me the strong confidence that my path is agreed and shared by quite a lot of election committee members."

John Lee, a Beijing loyalist, has been picked to be town's next chief government.

Bloomberg | Getty Pictures

In a word final week, analysts at Eurasia Group weighed in on Beijing's selection of Lee as the subsequent Hong Kong leader.

"The choice of Lee, a career police officer who performed a number one role in the crackdown on the pro-democracy protests that began in 2019, signifies that Beijing's prime precedence for Hong Kong is maintaining political safety relatively than preserving its function as a dynamic global hub," they mentioned.

"Lee's appointment will reinforce Hong Kong's shift from being a worldwide monetary and enterprise heart to enjoying a narrower function as a capital gateway for China," Eurasia's analysts said. "Whereas the risks to political and financial stability are modest, Lee's administration may be poorly equipped to answer a major shock."

In keeping with 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 attempt to blunt its spread. The city tightened restrictions additional in February as new circumstances raged, but started easing slightly in late April.

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

I make it a really clear level that I am very acutely aware of the must be accessible to the world. And in addition it is an important thing for Hong Kong to have the ability to resume regular travel with the mainland.

John Lee

Hong Kong's incoming chief government

At the press conference, Lee was additionally requested how he'll present the international group that Hong Kong is open for enterprise.

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

"I make it a really clear level that I'm very aware of the must be accessible to the world. And in addition it is a vital factor for Hong Kong to have the ability to resume normal travel with the mainland."

He mentioned he will likely be speaking to his counterparts in Beijing "to search out out what are the circumstances that shall be required for regular journey to be resumed with the mainland."

Lee additionally called on citizens to follow the advice and measures of the government, and said the town will seek to boost its vaccination fee. According to authorities statistics, greater than 91% of the population above the age of 12 have acquired their first vaccine dose as of Saturday, and 85.2% have received their second dose.

Hong Kong's outgoing chief executive Lam congratulated Lee on Sunday.

"I extend my honest congratulations to Mr John Lee on his successful election," she stated in a press launch. "The present-term authorities and I'll ensure a seamless transition with the Chief Executive-elect. We will render all the assist wanted for the assumption of office by the brand new term of government."

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