HONG KONG (REUTERS) - Hong Kong Chief Secretary John Lee, a security official during the global financial hub's prolonged and often violent 2019 pro-democracy protests, is set to resign to join a race in May to become the city's new leader, broadcaster TVB reported, citing an unidentified source.
Mr Lee, 64, a former deputy commissioner of police, was promoted to the city's No. 2 role in 2021 in a move that some political analysts said signalled Beijing's priorities for the city were related to security rather than finance or the economy.
Mr Lee did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam has not yet said if she will seek a second five-year term at the election set for May 8.
It was pushed back from March 27 to give the government time to battle a Covid-19 outbreak, which has infected more than a million of the 7.4 million people in Hong Kong.
Since the city returned to Chinese rule in 1997, it has had four chief executives, who all struggled to balance the democratic aspirations of some residents with the vision of China's Communist Party leaders.