Lee, 64, gained 1,416 votes from a few 1,460 electors on Sunday, in line with the returning officer on the election venue, the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. That is extra than the easy majority had to verify his appointment. He will begin his five-yr time period as Chief Executive on July 1, succeeding Carrie Lam, who ultimate month introduced her selection now no longer to run.
Lee, who in advance served as leader secretary for administration, the city’s No. 2 position, became the handiest candidate recommend to an election committee reformed with the aid of using Beijing in 2021 to stack extra pro-established order members. Vote counting became finished in an hour on Sunday, with nearly 98% turnout.
- Sunday’s ballot changed into the metropolis’s first to be held in greater than many years without as a minimum a nominal contest, China’s political overhauls withinside the metropolis final 12 months made all of it however not possible for a competition candidate to compete and the Communist Party’s endorsement of Lee rendered his victory a fait accompli.
Lee seemed to be in a terrific temper on Sunday, greeting citizens with elbow bumps or a conventional Chinese courtesy, barely bowing with each fingers clasped collectively. Election committee individuals additionally regarded relaxed, a lot of them posing for institution photos.
The preference of Lee, who served at the police pressure for greater than 3 many years earlier than becoming a member of the safety ministry, epitomizes China’s cognizance on country wide safety after a wave of huge and sometimes-violent democracy protests in 2019. Lee helped lead Lam’s crackdown at the demonstrations and put in force an effective Beijing-drafted country wide safety regulation that’s resulted withinside the arrest of a few 182 humans and the final of as a minimum a dozen information organization.
Lee has reiterated Lam’s pledge to enact extra safety legislation, referred to as Article 23, which changed into shelved in 2003 after huge demonstrations. He has indicated he’ll retain Lam’s signature land improvement projects — Northern Metropolis and Lantau Tomorrow — as he tries to address the metropolis’s housing crisis, a trouble that China blames for fueling public discontent.
The regulations did now no longer galvanize Tik Chi-yuen, founding father of the centrist Third Side birthday celebration and an election committee member. Tik instructed journalists on Sunday that Lee’s platform regarded “empty” and fell brief of Third Side’s expectations. However, he stated he’d nevertheless solid a vote for Lee in a gesture of goodwill and display that event of various evaluations can come collectively and clear up Hong Kong’s problems.
There changed into slightly any dissent seen withinside the metropolis with public gatherings of greater than 4 humans nevertheless banned because of Covid regulations and vital speech closely penalized beneath Neath the National Security Law. Three activists from the League of Social Democrats protested withinside the Wanchai community earlier than being stopped approximately one block far from the polling venue.
Before Hong Kong’s political elites select out the following metropolis leader, three activists from the League of Social Democrats held a lone public protest.
“Power to the humans, generic suffrage now,” they chanted as they marched to the vote casting venue amid heavy police presence.
— Holmes Chan (@holmeschan_) May 8, 2022
Ronny Tong, a member of the Executive Council, stated that whilst the election changed into a one-guy display, it changed into essential for the general public to appreciate the system. He referred to as on Lee to shape a greater inclusive management with extraordinary voices, a good way to assist Hong Kong get over the problems it has confronted withinside the final 3 years.
Tong stated Lee ought to cognizance on priorities together with improving from the Covid-19 pandemic, housing and gaining the help of younger humans.
“I suppose it’s very essential that we ought to get the whole network collectively in order that all of us have a not unusual place intention earlier than we are able to address tough questions like political reform,” Tong stated.
Regina Ip, every other Executive Council member and pro-Beijing lawmaker, stated that Lee’s instant project ought to be to facilitate the reopening of the metropolis’s borders with mainland China.
“You know, our linkage with the mainland is supremely essential,” Ip instructed journalists. “He ought to circulate to address loads of our deep-rooted problems, like land and housing shortage, our improvement of the Northern Metropolis to reinforce our convergence with Mainland China.”
With the reformed electoral system, the 2022 Hong Kong Chief Executive election is anticipated to end up the norm for the future, stated Stanley Ng, a National People’s Congress deputy and a metropolis lawmaker.
Published by- NIKITA GOSWAMI
