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As the financial hub attempts to relaunch itself after several years of political upheaval, Hong Kong’s leader-in-waiting, John Lee, is anticipated to be endorsed for the city’s top job on Sunday by a committee layered with pro-Beijing loyalists.
On Sunday morning, 1,500 members of a pro-Beijing election committee will vote for Lee, the sole candidate, at a harbourfront convention hall, with a simple majority required to appoint him as Hong Kong’s next leader.
Despite China’s promises to one day grant full democracy to the former British colony, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997, few of the city’s 7.4 million people have any say in choosing their leader.
Lee, a former Hong Kong secretary for security, has pushed China’s harsher regime through a national security law that has resulted in the arrest of dozens of democrats, the dissolution of civil society organisations, and the closure of liberal media outlets such as Apple Daily and Stand News.
He has pledged to relaunch Hong Kong as an international city and boost its ability to compete, amid concerns among some Western governments, including the United States, that Beijing’s 2020 security legislation has undermined freedoms and the rule of law.
The law, according to Chinese authorities, is necessary to restore stability following pro-democracy protests in 2019.
Some critics claim Lee’s efforts to relaunch Hong Kong internationally will be hampered by US sanctions imposed in 2020 for his role in “coercing, arresting, detaining, or incarcerating persons” in violation of the security law.
Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), which owns YouTube, has stated that it removed the Lee campaign’s YouTube account to comply with US sanction laws.
Lee has frequently stated that Hong Kong is a law-abiding society and that everyone must act in accordance with applicable legal after taking office, and that enacting more national security laws for Hong Kong will be a “priority” for him.
Among his other priorities as Hong Kong’s leader, Lee has stated that he plans to restructure the government to strengthen policymaking and increase housing supply in one of the world’s most expensive housing markets.
