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On the peak of Hong Kong’s protests in the summertime of 2019, indignant pro-democracy legislators shouted within the Chinese language territory’s legislative council: “down with John Lee!”, because the veteran safety chief defended his power’s therapy of the protesters and journalists.
“I hope individuals will perceive the chaotic state of affairs and the stress confronted by each one on the scene on that day,” Lee stated, unapologetically. “I hope members of the general public won’t vent their dissatisfaction of the federal government on law enforcement officials, as a result of they’re solely discharging their duties.”
On Sunday Lee, 64, who constructed a protracted profession in police and safety and oversaw the the heavy-handed crackdown on anti-Beijing protesters in 2019, is ready to grow to be Hong Kong’s new chief govt in a single-candidate choice course of to succeed Carrie Lam. Like Lam, he was among the many first Hong Kong and mainland Chinese language officers to be on the US sanctions record for his or her position in eroding the town’s once-guaranteed rights and freedoms.
However regardless of the controversy, by the point the management ballot takes place greater than half of the practically 1,500 individuals chosen to solid ballots would have already confirmed their assist to Lee – guaranteeing him victory.
“By selecting John Lee because the candidate with out competitors, Beijing is sending a message to the skin world,” stated Ho-fung Hung, a Hong Kong-born professor of political financial system at Johns Hopkins and the writer of the guide Metropolis on the Edge: Hong Kong Beneath Chinese language Rule. “The message is that Beijing has cemented management and can proceed its robust coverage in Hong Kong,” he stated.
Lee joined Hong Kong’s police power as an inspector in 1977. He rose by way of the ranks and, in 2017 grew to become the pinnacle of the federal government’s Safety Bureau. Like a lot of his friends, he speaks fluent English and was educated overseas, holding a grasp’s diploma in public coverage and administration from Charles Sturt college in Australia.
In the previous couple of years, Lee has proven his staunch assist for the controversial nationwide safety legislation that was handed in 2020. The laws bars secession, subversion, and collusion with overseas forces. Since its enactment, dozens of pro-democracy legislators have both been arrested or have moved overseas. Au Nok-hin, who led the chanting of “Down with John Lee” in that council session three years in the past, was among the many 55 members of the opposition who have been arrested underneath the nationwide safety legislation final 12 months.
Lee’s opponents fear that the previous safety tsar would finally flip Hong Kong into one other mainland Chinese language metropolis by additional eroding its once-proud traditions – for instance, of press freedom. Final 12 months Lee oversaw the freeze of media tycoon Jimmy Lai’s belongings, which finally led to the closure of one of many metropolis’s hottest pro-democracy tabloid newspapers, Apple Day by day.
In November Lee advised RTHK, the native public broadcaster, that the federal government was trying into “completely different ways” to focus on “pretend information” by way of laws.
A number of months earlier than, the town’s new police chief, Raymond Siu, referred to as for a “pretend information” legislation to deal with “hostility towards the police”. Regardless of being a sole contender for the highest job, Lee has up to now weeks been seen making coverage pledges and receiving a rising variety of supporters from the town’s institution. On 20 April 148 high-profile figures, together with tycoon Li Ka-shing and movie star Jackie Chan joined his marketing campaign as advisers. Lee is extensively seen as a “reliable and devoutly loyal” determine to Beijing.
Dissenting voices have largely disappeared following final 12 months’s electoral adjustments that allowed solely “patriots” in legislature polls. Earlier than the December vote, Lee warned that candidates who had been banned from working for failing the “patriots” standards would attempt to thwart the elections. “We’ve got to ensure that they won’t succeed,” he stated.
Analysts say that stability and safety might be Lee’s predominant focus. In a closed-door rally on Friday, Lee met with greater than 1,000 native figures who will vote and urged the general public to have a “collective mindset”. His supporters additionally praised him for “serving to Hong Kong to revive order from chaos”.
In keeping with a 44-page manifesto revealed final week, Lee’s precedence could be to enact Article 23 of the town’s structure. Earlier Hong Kong administrations had tried – however failed – to make it occur.
“However whether or not he would enact Article 23 is a moot level”, stated Prof Steve Tsang, a Hong Kong politics skilled at SOAS in London. “It’s because the state safety equipment is already in place by way of the nationwide safety laws. Due to this fact, there’s no assure they’d find yourself doing that.”
Hung stated that Lee’s safety background inevitably sends a robust message, however trying on the dynamics between Hong Kong and Beijing over the course of the Covid outbreak within the metropolis earlier this 12 months, one might additionally see the last word restrict to Beijing’s sway within the metropolis.
“It appears to me that Beijing nonetheless has not determined strike a stability between safety and sustaining Hong Kong’s distinctive position as an offshore monetary centre. The tug-of-war goes to proceed for a while underneath Lee’s watch,” he added.
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