John Lee will replace Carrie Lam on July 1 after winning a namesake election
John Lee, formerly the city’s no 2 official with a career as a security officer is going to be the next leader of Hong Kong. This is a result of the political transformation led by China that has ousted any opposition. The city is now under Beijing’s control.
Lee is the only candidate in a namesake election. Of the 1500-member election committee, more than half of them have supported Lee. He only needs the simple majority to win the elections.
The current leader, Carrie Lam, will be replaced by Lee on the 1st of July. She has completed her 5-year term and this period marked one of the most politically active periods since the British returned the city to China in 1997.
The election laws were changed last year. This was done to ensure only leaders loyal to Beijing can get elected to the office. The legislature section was also reorganized to remove all of the opposition voices.
Yvonne Chiu, who has written extensively on Hong Kong politics stated that, “Even autocracies today feel obligated to go through the motions of staging an election to project greater legitimacy to their population and the international community.” It is the need to portray an image of democracy that the predetermined elections are being contested after eliminating opposing voices.
The previous four leaders of the city were also appointed by Beijing. In 2014 protests erupted making demands that China should not be interfering with Hong Kong’s elections to choose its leaders. In 2019 pro-democracy protests were held that ended in violent clashes. Lee was the Security Secretary at this point and had decided to confront the protesters with rubber bullets and tear gas along with arresting many of the people.
Hong Kong people have more freedom than the people in mainland China. However, all hopes for a democratic government are out of the question. China is asserting its control over the city making it similar to other cities in China.
Published by – Mohit Maurya
Edited by – Architha Menon M
