Would face balancing need for stringent rule by Beijing and desire for freedom by island\u0027s citizens
Hong Kong’s No. 2 official told a news briefing Wednesday that he had notified outgoing Chief Executive Carrie Lam in a letter that he would step down and seek her job. “Having been in the government for over 40 years, to serve the people of Hong Kong is a glory,” Lee said, adding that he would elaborate on his agenda once his candidacy had been formally approved by Beijing.
Lee’s solitary run in the May 8 vote would mark the first time in two decades a candidate has stood unopposed, reducing the votes of the 1,500 mostly Beijing loyalists on the city’s election committee to a rubber stamp for China. “The election of the CE is by now mainly for show,” said Steve Tsang, director of SOAS University of London’s China Institute. “Beijing has made sure it gets the candidate it wants.
Hong Kong’s next leader will take office July 1, the halfway mark in Beijing’s 50-year pledge to preserve the city’s liberal financial and political systems. No chief executive has so far managed to complete two full terms, as they struggle to satisfy both Beijing’s demand for control and citizens’ expectations for greater freedoms.
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