New leader for HK

HONG KONG: Western multinationals and local tycoons published newspaper adverts yesterday congratulating John Lee on becoming Hong Kong’s next leader, succeeding Carrie Lam, following a rubber-stamp selection process condemned by critics as antidemocratic.

Lee, 64, a former security chief who oversaw the crackdown on Hong Kong’s democracy movement, was named the business hub’s new leader by a small committee of Beijing loyalists. Lee wants to reboot the city’s economy and reopen its pandemic sealed borders. But it is unclear how he can do that given China’s zero-Covid strategy. |