Hong Kong chief executive election 2022: John Lee calls financial industry double-edged weapon, legal system ‘polluted by politics’
- Candidate John Lee calls financial system ‘sharp tool’ to be used by or against city during meeting with Election Committee members
- Member of committee’s legal subsector calls for Lee to close national security gaps by passing Article 23 of Basic Law
Chief executive hopeful John Lee Ka-chiu has described the financial industry as a “sharp tool” that could be used either by or against Hong Kong, during a meeting in which he also said the city’s legal system was “polluted by politics”.
Lee made the remarks on Thursday during a virtual meeting with about 50 members of the Election Committee’s legal and accountancy subsectors, one day after he submitted his bid for the leadership. The sole contender backed by Beijing, Lee is all but guaranteed to clinch the vote on May 8.
“We must handle finance very carefully because it’s too crucial … Finance is a sharp tool, but also [an area where] other people can use sharp tools to attack us, so we must be especially careful in handling it,” he said during the 90-minute session.
Lee added that he would carefully assess the city’s strengths, weaknesses, as well as possible opportunities and threats, before implementing any plans under his “result-oriented” approach.
During the meeting, 20 representatives from the two subsectors spoke about their expectations for the next administration. Several senior accountants called for the city to further integrate its financial sector with mainland China’s and develop industry-related technology to maintain a competitive edge.
Accountant and lawmaker Nelson Lam Chi-yuen said he was glad that the former security minister was aware of the vulnerability of the city’s financial market.
“Hong Kong’s economy is dependent on the financial industry, which contributes more than 20 per cent of the city’s GDP,” he said. “But in the Russo-Ukrainian war, we have seen how the West uses financial tools as punitive measures, and it has affected the private properties of Russian oligarchs.”
Members of the legal sector also outlined their expectations for the next administration, with Basic Law Committee member Albert Chen Hung-yee calling on Lee to introduce a local national security law, as constitutionally required, to complement the one Beijing imposed two years ago.