Former Hong Kong security boss John Lee, who oversaw a crackdown on the pro-democracy movement, was named the city’s new leader on Sunday by a small committee loyal to the Chinese regime. He was the only candidate in the running.
John Lee obtained 1416 votes from the ‘electoral committee’, made up of 1461 representatives of the political and economic elite, all loyal to Beijing. This 64-year-old former police officer, who was to win a simple majority, succeeds Carrie Lam, who has decided not to run for a new five-year term.
According to local media, around 7,000 police officers were mobilized to avoid any incidents during the designation process.
The League of Social Democrats – one of the last remaining pro-democracy groups – staged a three-person protest before the polls opened, chanting ‘power to the people, universal suffrage now’.
Stifled dissent
“We know this action will have no effect, but we don’t want Hong Kong to be completely silent,” protester Vanessa Chan said as dozens of police watched.
John Lee will be Hong Kong’s first leader to come from a police background. He was Hong Kong’s security chief at the time of the massive pro-democracy protests of 2019. In this capacity, he oversaw the crackdown on the protest as well as the severe political takeover that followed.
Under President Xi Jinping, Beijing in 2020 imposed a draconian national security law on the former British colony that stifled dissent, as well as a reform of the political system to ensure that Hong Kong is ruled exclusively by ‘patriots’ loyal to the Chinese regime.
According to analysts, it was John Lee’s fervent support for this campaign of repression that earned him the confidence of the Chinese regime, which has traditionally been wary of Hong Kong’s political elites.
/ATS