Author: ZEN SOO and VINCENT YU
Associated Press
HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on April 4 that she would not seek re-election after a difficult five years – a wave of 19 that overwhelmed the health system.
Her successor will be chosen in May, with the city’s hardline security chief seen as a possible option during protests in 2019.
“I will complete my five-year term as chief executive on June 30 this year, and I will also end my 42-year career in public service,” Carrie Lam told a news conference.
The 64-year-old career civil servant said her plan to spend more time with her family was her “only consideration”.
Speculation about whether she will seek re-election has raged for months, and she has repeatedly declined to comment on the possibility. However, she said her decision was communicated to the central government in Beijing last year and was “respected and understood”.
Her tenure may be remembered as a turning point in Beijing’s firm grip on the former British colony, which returned to China in 1997. Over the years, the city, amid calls for more freedom and a growing Chinese expansion of its influence, has undermined the mainland government’s promise to give Hong Kong semi-autonomous power for 50 years.
Carrie Lam’s popularity has plummeted during her five-year term, especially over legislation allowing criminal suspects to be extradited to face trial in mainland China and her leadership in the protests that followed in 2019. Police and protesters. Authorities in Hong Kong and Beijing insisted that overseas powers fueled the movement, not local activism, while protesters denounced excessive police repression and said the so-called sedition was an attempt to undermine pro-democracy causes.
Lim said she was under enormous pressure because of the extradition bill, “interference by foreign powers” and the pandemic. “However, the motivation for me to persevere is the firm support of the central government,” she said, according to a simultaneous interpretation by a government translator.
Later, Carrie Lam strongly supported the national security law initiated by Beijing and implemented by her government, which was seen as eroding the post-handover Britain’s “one country, two systems” framework that promised city dwellers would retain freedoms not available in mainland China, such as freedom of the press and free speech .
In the years since, security laws and other police and court actions have virtually wiped out the city’s pro-democracy movement, with activists and supporters of the movement either arrested or jailed. Others fled into exile. Carrie Lam and the central government in Beijing say their actions have restored stability in Hong Kong.
According to Hong Kong media reports, Li Jiayong, the second leader of Hong Kong and Chief Secretary for Administration, is likely to join Lam’s successor. Lee was promoted from police officer to deputy commissioner in 2010 and served as the city’s security minister during the 2019 protests. He is known for his support of the police force during protests and his tough stance on protesters.
Hong Kong’s leader is elected by a committee of members of the Legislative Council, representatives of various industries, and pro-Beijing representatives such as the Hong Kong representative of the Chinese legislature. One of the demands the 2019 protests failed to deliver was the direct election of the city’s chief executive.
The election of the chief executive, originally scheduled for March 27, was postponed to May 8 as the city experienced the worst coronavirus outbreak.
Carrie Lam said holding the vote on schedule would pose a “public health risk”, even with a committee of only 1,462 people.
Hong Kong has reported nearly 1.2 million cases, 99% of which occurred in waves driven by a highly transmissible variant of the omicron. It has put a strain on the medical system, with hospitals sometimes placing patients in outdoor beds. More than 8,000 people have died in the latest outbreak, while morgues at full capacity have used reefer containers to temporarily store bodies.
Carrie Lam’s government has been widely criticized for policy blunders, including mixed messages in February and March on whether to impose a lockdown and mandate mass testing. The uncertainty sparked panic among residents, who cleared store shelves to stock up on necessities.
Plans for mandatory mass testing were abandoned, and Lim urged all residents to self-test using rapid antigen kits between April 8 and 10. She later said it was voluntary as it was impossible to enforce it.
Mr Lam has served as Chief Secretary for Administration, Secretary for Development and other civil service positions. She earned the nickname “The Good Fighter” for her tough stance and refusal to back down in political battles.
Lim renounced her British citizenship when she was appointed head of development in 2007. Her husband and two children retain their British citizenship.
