Opinion | How Hong Kong chief executive hopeful John Lee can raise the bar if elected

Chief executive candidate John Lee has promised ‘results-oriented’ leadership and vowed to build a more competitive and politically stable city

To deliver, he would need to make government ministers more accountable, encourage integration with the Greater Bay Area, and take steps towards universal suffrage

Reading Time:4 minutes

Published: 8:15am, 13 Apr 2022Updated: 12:45pm, 13 Apr 2022

At the launch of his leadership campaign during a virtual press conference, chief executive candidate John Lee Ka-chiu listed three main objectives: build a results-oriented administration, enhance Hong Kong’s competitiveness, and consolidate the city’s foundation.

When his name first began to circulate in connection with the role, many assumed that Beijing wanted the new chief executive to put national security front and centre. Lee’s statement makes it clear that Beijing expects much more.

With the national security law and electoral reform firmly in place at the midpoint of “one country, two systems”, the stage is set for a strong leader to take Hong Kong to the next level.

As President Xi Jinping has repeatedly stressed, China is facing existential challenges and opportunities not seen in over a hundred years.

Externally, there are worsening headwinds from all directions, not least an indiscriminate anti-China stranglehold in its great power rivalry with the United States.

Internally, the country is battling for self-reliance in critical technologies, stronger domestic consumption, enhanced productivity to support its ageing population, “common prosperity” to narrow widening inequality, carbon neutrality by 2060, and a firmer standing in the global economy through the Belt and Road Initiative.