Beijing’s selection of John Lee shows that it will double-down on the crackdown in Hong Kong

Over the weekend, the former Chief Secretary and Secretary for Security, John Lee was selected to be Beijing’s hand-picked successor as Chief Executive of Hong Kong.

As the only candidate running, John Lee received 99% of the votes of the 1,461-selection committee, which represented 0.02% of Hong Kong’s population.

The former police officer has promised to prioritise the passing of domestic Article 23 national security legislation as Chief Executive, and has previously called for a so called “fake news” law to target remaining independent news outlets in the city and praised the crackdown on human rights in the city.

As with many Hong Kong officials, John Lee was educated in the West, attending university in Australia. He previously held British citizenship (until 2012) alongside his wife and two children.

Commenting on John Lee’s selection, Benedict Rogers, Hong Kong Watch’s Chief Executive, said:

“Beijing’s selection of John Lee, the former Secretary for Security and police officer, as its replacement of Chief Executive, marks a further signal that it intends to double-down on the ongoing oppression and crackdown on human rights in the city.

Selected by a small group of hand-picked and carefully screened elites, John Lee’s ascendency as Chief Executive is far from the democratic process by universal suffrage China previously promised to support when Hong Kong was handed over to its control. It is clear that John Lee will be little more than a puppet of Beijing.

The new Chief Executive’s agenda, which is set to include further national security legislation, should be strongly rebuffed by the international community, which must be prepared to use targeted sanctions, further lifeboat schemes, and all the leverage it has to support the people of Hong Kong.”

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北京挑選李家超為特首標誌著當局將進一步鎮壓香港

前政務司司長及前保安局局長李家超於過去的周末被北京親自挑選成為新任香港行政長官。

作為「一人選舉」唯一的候選人，李家超獲得了 1,461個選舉委員會中 99%的選票，佔香港人口的 0.02%。

這位前警務署高層承諾，成為行政長官後將優先通過第 23條國家安全立法，並曾呼籲制定所謂的「假新聞」法，以針對香港僅存的獨立新聞機構，並支持北京鎮壓香港。

與許多香港官員一樣，李家超在西方接受教育，曾於澳洲就讀大學。直至 2012年，他曾與妻子和兩個孩子一起擁有英國公民身份。

香港監察行政總監羅傑斯評論北京挑選李家超成為下任特首時指：

「北京選擇前保安局局長及前警務處副處長李家超作為其行政長官的繼任人，標誌著這個政權打算進一步加倍打壓香港人權。

李家超由一小群經過精心篩選的『精英』選出來成為行政長官，這與中國在香港主權移交時承諾的民主普選進程相差甚遠。李家超很明顯只是北京的傀儡。

新行政長官的議程將包括就國家安全進一步立法，國際社會必須強烈反對，並準備利用針對性制裁、進一步的救生艇計劃以及一切可行的政策來支持香港人。」