She’s standing down and here’s the scary comment as to what happens next for Hong Kong
“It will free up space for the central government to form a [Hong Kong] leadership team that is more courageous, capable, responsible, loyal to the central government and decisive,” said Lau Siu-kai, vice chairman of pro-Beijing think tank the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies.
Nikkei Asia reports
HONG KONG — Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said Monday that she would not seek a second term, after a turbulent tenure that saw huge anti-government protests and criticism over her handling of the city’s worst COVID-19 outbreak.
Lam told reporters that her decision not to run in next month’s chief executive election was for personal reasons, adding that she would step down on June 30 after four decades of public service.
“My family is a priority which I must consider. They also think it is time for me to go home,” the 64-year-old told a news briefing.
“I notified the central government last year and have their understanding and respect,” she added.
Chief Secretary John Lee, the city’s second-in-command, will look to run for Hong Kong’s top job, according to local media.
Lee, who worked on the police force for more than three decades, played a critical role in cracking down on Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement. Under his watch as security chief, popular newspaper Apple Daily, which was sharply critical of the Chinese Communist Party, was forced to shut after its founder Jimmy Lai was arrested. Lee was promoted to his current position last year.
Lam’s public support dropped in 2019 when millions took to the streets during months of pro-democracy protests, and her popularity has since remained the lowest among any chief executive.
Since Lam came to office in 2017, the international financial hub has been hit by some of the most dramatic upheaval in its history, including a controversial electoral system overhaul and the introduction of a sweeping Beijing-imposed national security law in mid-2020, which critics say has steadily eroded civil liberties in the once freewheeling city of 7.4 million.
“She implemented Beijing’s very authoritarian and suppressive policy program and, as a result, she lost the support of the people of Hong Kong. She was resented,” said independent political commentator Joseph Cheng.
Another critic said it was “wise” for Lam — a devout Catholic born in the former British colony in 1957 — not to seek reelection given her government’s handling over the protests and virus outbreak.
“It will free up space for the central government to form a [Hong Kong] leadership team that is more courageous, capable, responsible, loyal to the central government and decisive,” said Lau Siu-kai, vice chairman of pro-Beijing think tank the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies.
Since Hong Kong’s return to mainland China in 1997, none of its four chief executives has run for a second five-year term.
On Sunday, a two-week nomination period began for the leadership election, which will be held on May 8. Hong Kong’s chief executive is not chosen by the public, but by the nearly 1,500 members of the Beijing-controlled Election Committee behind closed doors.
The election was postponed from March 27 as the city battled its worst coronavirus outbreak, which has infected more than 1 million people and killed nearly 8,000.
https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Hong-Kong-leader-Carrie-Lam-not-seeking-second-term
