John Lee: He is the new chief executive of Hong Kong. He succeeded Carrie Lam, who had held the post since 2017. On May 8, 2022, 64-year-old Joh Lee was elected as the leader of Hong Kong in an election that was held through a closed voting system.
About John Lee
He is 64 years old and has been known as a pro-Beijing supporter. Since 1977, he has been a law enforcement agent when he joined the police force. At that time, he was 20.
In 2010, he became Deputy Commissioner, which is the second most prominent position in the Hong Kong Police Force.
In 2012, he was appointed as Under Secretary, and then he was promoted to Secretary of Security in 2017.
John Lee, as Secretary of Security, played an important role in advocating the 2019 Extradition Bill. The bill allowed fugitives to be extradited to China and also to Taiwan and Macau.
In Hong Kong, there were protests for months due to the bill, and under Lee, police were criticised for using water cannons, tear gas, and ammunition.
The police action was defended by Joh Lee and claimed that protestors resorted to "terrorism" and "extremism".
John Lee backed the controversial National Security Law in 2020 that was passed by China. It was instantly made a part of Hong Kong's legal system. Secession, subversion, terrorist activities, and collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security as offences were all mentioned in the law. This law, too, led to months-long protests and also turned violent.
Lee also played a significant role in the implementation of matters related to the national security law as he was a member of the committee. Because of this, he was subjected to sanctions by the United States and was also blocked by YouTube in 2022 for his election campaign. He believed that the law would help Hong Kong to restore stability from "chaos".
On the day of the election result, John Lee stated, "Having restored order from chaos, it is high time that Hong Kong starts a new chapter of development, a chapter that will be geared toward greater prosperity for all.”
In Hong Kong, a survey was conducted in March which showed that the popularity of Joh Lee had dipped to 34.8 percent in 2022 from 38 percent in 2021.
After winning, Joh Lee made it clear that he would maintain close ties between China and Hong Kong. In April, when Lee was launching his manifesto, he said that it was important that Hong Kong work closely with economically significant Chinese cities.
He also supported various controversial bills that have been pending due to widespread protests. It is expected that these bills will be back in discussion to be passed. He also said that he would introduce a law against fake news. No doubt, the appointment of John Lee came at a time when the city has been subject to one of the world's worst pandemic restrictions that is impacting its economy and also increasing unemployment.
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Take a look at the 2022 Hong Kong Election
Hong Kong's 2022 election was held a year after the electoral system of the city was reformed. The new rules marked the way for the ruling Communist Party of China to appoint more lawmakers to the election committee, reducing the share elected by the public and eliminating opposition voices. It also increased the number of members of the committee from 300 to 1,500.
The election on Sunday was held via a secret ballot. 1500 members voted and were largely pro-Beijing supporters. This voting system was instituted by the central government to ensure only "patriots" held the position of chief executive.
The difference in this election was that there was only one candidate, and that was John Lee. He gained more than 99 percent of the votes, which is the highest amount obtained so far.
The sworn-in ceremony of John Lee will be on July 1, 2022, and is also the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's being returned to China by the British.
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