The head of diplomacy of the European Union (EU), Josep Borrell, defended this Sunday that the appointment of John Lee as leader of the Hong Kong executive “violates democratic principles and political pluralism”.
Through a post on the social network Twitter, Borrell pointed out that the “selection process” is “another step in the dismantling of the ‘one country, two systems’ principle”.
The head of EU diplomacy also stressed that Hong Kong must respect its national and international commitments.
The only candidate for Hong Kong’s chief executive, John Lee, was confirmed in office today, with 1,416 votes, announced the electoral affairs commission.
Candidate Lee Ka-chiu, John, “got 1416 votes”, being elected chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, said the election authorities, in a statement posted on the election website.
“I appreciate your support for the election of the chief executive,” Lee, 64, said in a brief speech after the results were announced, the South China Morning Post reported.
During the voting period, between 9:00 am (02:00 am in Lisbon) and 11:30 am (04:30 am), 1,428 committee members cast their vote, which represents a turnout rate of 97.7%, according to a statement from the local authorities. .
“Let’s expect even more repression in the coming months and years”
The electoral commission is made up of 1463 members, mostly pro-Beijing. heard by TSFactivist Benedict Rogers of Hong Kong Watch said the outcome was “very predictable” but was surprised that there was even a small protest.
“The winning candidate had no opponent and also had a seat on the electoral committee itself, so it’s a rigged election,” says Rogers, who classifies what happened as a “selection” not an election.
“What surprised me the most was that some Hong Kong residents, quite brave, even in the current context of repression, staged a protest”, something he called “extraordinary, given that protests are prohibited and, under the Law of National Security, protesters can spend many years in prison just for demonstrating”.
About 7,000 police were deployed to prevent any incidents during the voting, local media reported.
The inauguration of the former Secretary of Security of the former British colony and number two in the government of Carrie Lam is scheduled for July 1, but Benedict Rogers points out that John Lee came to power at the time of the biggest pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. Kong in 2019, having no government experience in key areas such as the economy, housing, social security, education and infrastructure.
“Mr Lee symbolizes the transformation of Hong Kong from an open city with the rule of law to a police state”, defends the activist.
“We are going to expect even more repression in the coming months and years. He has already said that he will regulate Article 23 of the mini-constitution, which is the anti-subversion law, which will further tighten the scope of the National Security law”, aiming to attack the so-called “fake news”, which, in practical terms, will result in “a major crackdown on press freedom, which has now been almost completely dismantled”.
Without exact numbers, Benedict Rogers talks about hundreds of people detained on suspicion of violating the National Security Act, many of whom have been in prison for more than a year and are still awaiting trial.