New Leader of Hong Kong - John Lee: John Lee Ka-chiu, a former security chief who oversaw the crackdown on Hong Kong's democracy movement has recently been elected with 99.2% of the vote from the election committee as the next leader of Hong Kong.

Key Highlights:

• This is widely interpreted as a move by the Chinese government to tighten its hold over the city.
• John Lee is replacing Carrie Lam who had served since 2017.
• From 1st July 2022, Lee will begin his five-year term as the city’s chief executive.
• The leaders of Hong Kong are selected by a closed-circle committee of around 1,500 members, who are nearly all pro-Beijing loyalists.
• However, this time there was only one contender for them to elect.

What role did Lee have in the violent crackdowns in 2019?

• As per BBC, Lee, a former police officer who became Hong Kong's security chief, Lee helped push for the city's controversial extradition bill that aimed to facilitate the extradition of Hong Kong residents to China to face trial
• As security chief, Lee was also responsible for the crackdown on the city's residents during the island's pro-democracy protests in 2019 and 2020.
• During the unrest, water cannons, tear gas, and even live ammunition were used to disperse those demonstrating against the bill.

Why did the United States put economic sanctions against John Lee?

• The US put economic sanctions against John Lee for being a key individual in charge of implementing a draconian national security law in Hong Kong that prosecutes those accused of colluding with foreign forces.
• Under the law, Hong Kong has convicted democracy protesters of terrorism, arrested teenagers, and banned pro-democracy candidates from standing for election.

About Hong Kong:

• Hong Kong, officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (HKSAR) is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta in South China.
• Hong Kong was transferred from Britain to China in 1997 under the agreement that rights such as freedom of assembly and freedom of speech would be guaranteed in the territory.
• Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated places in the world.
• It is also one of the three global financial centres and one of the most developed cities in the world.