Future leader of Hong Kong goes to Beijing to formalize his appointment

He was the only candidate for the succession of the outgoing leader Carrie Lam and will take office on July 1.

Le Monde with AFP

The next leader of the Hong Kong executive, John Lee, will meet, on Saturday in Beijing, the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, to officially endorse his appointment, a little more than a month before taking office. During this four -day visit to China, Mr. Lee must also meet senior Chinese leaders, according to Hong Kong media. He should talk to the Chinese president, who must notably approve the list of people who will form his team, said the daily South China Morning Post .

He was the only candidate for the succession of the outgoing leader Carrie Lam. At 64, the former Hong Kong security, who had supervised the repression of the pro-democracy movement, was appointed, in early May, by a small “electoral committee” faithful to Beijing. A new electoral system, wanted by Beijing, was implemented in 2021 to ensure that Hong Kong was led exclusively by loyal “patriots” towards the Chinese regime.

During the weekend, the future chief of the executive will have to submit to screening tests and observe around quarantine, as part of the anti-Cavid measures in force in China. Mr. Lee will take up his duties on the 1 ^er July, day of 25 e anniversary of the Hong Kong retrocession to China by the United Kingdom. His presence, on the occasion of these two events, has not yet been confirmed.

The arrival of John Lee would be the first trip outside the president of the president since the start of the pandemic. In 2017, he had a three -day visit to Hong Kong to attend the oath of M ^{me lam.}

This trip had been marked by demonstrations. It is unlikely that a protest movement will reproduce this year, Beijing having for two years imposed a draconian law on national security to suppress any dissent. According to the Hong Kong weekly Eastweek, more than 10,000 police officers will be deployed through the city as part of a possible arrival of M. XI.

Local authorities are trying to find a way of protecting the president from any risk of COVVI-19 contamination, Hong Kong and China remaining attached to the strategy of Zero COVID. Mr. Xi Jinping could choose to spend only one day in Hong Kong or to completely give up his displacement in the event of the appearance of new epidemic households, according to the Wall Street Journal.