Hong Kong leader's challenges ahead

Hong Kong's beleaguered Chief Executive Carrie Lam has announced that she will not be standing for re-election in May, paving the way for a new leader for the Asian financial hub. Chief Secretary and erstwhile security head John Lee has been tipped to be her successor and resigned from his post yesterday to run. If he does win, it will be the first time that a security chief will head the city's government. Previous leaders were either from the business sector or civil servants who held trade, finance and development portfolios. This would also signal Beijing is prioritising political and social stability over Hong Kong's status as a regional financial hub and China's own image, which had taken a hit over its handling, indirectly, of democratic protests in 2019 and the decimation of the pro-democratic opposition.

That Mrs Lam is serving only one term does not come as a surprise. The position of chief executive is a difficult one, sandwiched as the office is between Beijing and its desire to increase its grip on its fractious southern city, and Hong Kongers, many of whom want more freedoms, including universal suffrage, promised in the Basic Law, the city's mini-Constitution. None of the previous leaders completed two full terms and Mrs Lam's predecessor also served just one. She has presided over a particularly turbulent period in Hong Kong, with a proposed extradition Bill triggering protests that lasted months and grew increasingly violent. Her handling of the protests and the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly the latest wave that has resulted in nearly 8,000 dead, left her hugely unpopular. A prevailing view among analysts is that if she sought another term, she would have had difficulty obtaining Beijing's trust or support, and her low popularity and capacity to govern would hamper her ability to meet the challenges that Hong Kong will face.