Hong Kong’s former security chief said it was “not easy” to run as the only candidate to become the territory’s next leader, as he announced yesterday that he had secured enough nominations to enter the poll.
Hong Kong Chief Secretary for Administration John Lee (李家超), 64, is expected to be anointed the territory’s new chief executive by a committee of 1,500 Beijing loyalists next month.
Hong Kong media have widely reported that Lee would, at Beijing’s request, face no rivals in the election.
Photo: AP
Lee yesterday officially registered his candidacy with the territory’s election watchdog with 786 nominations from the committee.
That number surpasses the legal threshold needed for him to win the May 8 poll.
Asked by a reporter whether he faced an easier journey without rivals, Lee replied: “It is not easy because I have been working very hard to explain to various members what my election platform will be like.”
Lee has yet to publicly release a manifesto or any concrete policies, although he said one was on the way.
“It has just been a few days since I announced to stand for the election. Writing the platform needs time,” Lee said.
The nomination period closes on Saturday.
When announcing his bid last week, Lee gave three broad priorities for his government: being “results-orientated,” enhancing Hong Kong’s competitiveness and consolidating its further development.
He has since shuttled between various pro-government groups and held five online conferences with Election Committee members to gather support.
“I think members agree with these three directions that is why they have given me the nomination, but it is a hard effort,” Lee said.
Chan King-cheung (陳景祥), former chief editor of the Hong Kong Economic Journal, wrote in a newspaper column yesterday that Lee should still explain to the public what his policies are, even though ordinary residents do not get to vote.
“To say ‘result-oriented’ without defining the result is so vague and empty that the ‘voters’ can’t tell what promises he has actually made,” Chan wrote.
DEBT BREAK: Friedrich Merz has vowed to do ‘whatever it takes’ to free up more money for defense and infrastructure at a time of growing geopolitical uncertainty Germany’s likely next leader Friedrich Merz was set yesterday to defend his unprecedented plans to massively ramp up defense and infrastructure spending in the Bundestag as lawmakers begin debating the proposals. Merz unveiled the plans last week, vowing his center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU)/Christian Social Union (CSU) bloc and the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) — in talks to form a coalition after last month’s elections — would quickly push them through before the end of the current legislature. Fraying Europe-US ties under US President Donald Trump have fueled calls for Germany, long dependent on the US security umbrella, to quickly
RARE EVENT: While some cultures have a negative view of eclipses, others see them as a chance to show how people can work together, a scientist said Stargazers across a swathe of the world marveled at a dramatic red “Blood Moon” during a rare total lunar eclipse in the early hours of yesterday morning. The celestial spectacle was visible in the Americas and Pacific and Atlantic oceans, as well as in the westernmost parts of Europe and Africa. The phenomenon happens when the sun, Earth and moon line up, causing our planet to cast a giant shadow across its satellite. But as the Earth’s shadow crept across the moon, it did not entirely blot out its white glow — instead the moon glowed a reddish color. This is because the
Romania’s electoral commission on Saturday excluded a second far-right hopeful, Diana Sosoaca, from May’s presidential election, amid rising tension in the run-up to the May rerun of the poll. Earlier this month, Romania’s Central Electoral Bureau barred Calin Georgescu, an independent who was polling at about 40 percent ahead of the rerun election. Georgescu, a fierce EU and NATO critic, shot to prominence in November last year when he unexpectedly topped a first round of presidential voting. However, Romania’s constitutional court annulled the election after claims of Russian interference and a “massive” social media promotion in his favor. On Saturday, an electoral commission statement
Chinese authorities increased pressure on CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd over its plan to sell its Panama ports stake by sharing a second newspaper commentary attacking the deal. The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office on Saturday reposted a commentary originally published in Ta Kung Pao, saying the planned sale of the ports by the Hong Kong company had triggered deep concerns among Chinese people and questioned whether the deal was harming China and aiding evil. “Why were so many important ports transferred to ill-intentioned US forces so easily? What kind of political calculations are hidden in the so-called commercial behavior on the
RSS