Change at the top of Hong Kong. Carrie Lam, chief executive of the former British colony, has appointed John Lee, security secretary, as chief secretary in place of Matthew Cheung. Police Chief Chris Tang will replace John Lee. On 1 July, for the first time during his mandate, Lam will not be in Hong Kong for the handover but in Beijing for the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Communist Party. The elections in Hong Kong with the new rules will be held in March, Lam does not know if it will be reconfirmed but in the meantime he has declared that Hong Kong will follow the lines of the five-year plan of Beijing.
The new leaders at the helm of Hong Kong
Appointments under the banner of security tightening in Hong Kong. One year after the launch of the national security law and in the aftermath of the closure of Apple Daily, John Lee, interior minister, was appointed chief secretary in place of Matthew Cheung, in practice he becomes the number two of Carrie Lam, chief executive of the former British colony. Police Chief Chris Tang will replace John Lee.
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Despite the overwhelming emphasis on security, Lam reiterated that the chief secretary is tasked with overseeing the day-to-day administration of the Asian financial hub, including handling the pandemic.
The squeeze on the media reached a climax with the forced closure of Apple Daily which found assets frozen for 2.3 million Hong Kong dollars, after searches of the headquarters and arrests of journalists for attacking national security. This is a new crime introduced by the law passed last March.
Jimmy Lai, the founder of the Apple group, is accused according to the national security law of “collusion with foreigners”, is in prison to serve a sentence linked to his involvement and that of the newspaper in the pro-democracy movement of 2019.