Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced on Monday that she will step down in June, after a term marked by huge pro-democracy protests and the city’s isolation from the rest of the world to protect itself from COVID. -19.
Mme Lam, backed by Beijing five years ago, said she would not seek a second term in May when a select committee appoints the city’s next leader.
“I will complete my five-year term as Chief Executive on June 30 and officially end my 42-year career in government,” Ms.me Lam to the press.
The 64-year-old leader assured that the leaders of Beijing, whom she warned of her intentions in March 2021, had “understood and respected” her choice, which she justified by “family considerations”.
“I have to put my family members first, and they feel it’s time for me to go home,” she said.
After a career as a civil servant, Mr.me Lam became the first woman to lead Hong Kong in 2017.
“Chronic crisis of legitimacy”
For Kenneth Chan, professor of political science at Baptist University, the leaders of Hong Kong still suffer from a “chronic crisis of legitimacy”, because they are not elected by the citizens, but by a committee of 1,500 people, all acquired in Beijing.
Butme Lam has lost support from all political sides, “not only among pro-democracy citizens, but also increasingly in the pro-Beijing camp, because she has done an awful job during the pandemic,” Chan told Agence France-Presse.
Predictions about the identity of the next leader of the territory, the world’s third largest financial center, are uncertain. The new chief executive will be chosen on May 8, but for the time being, no realistic candidate has been unveiled.
Hong Kong’s current number two, John Lee, a former security service, has been touted by the local press as a likely candidate. Another potential suitor is Finance Minister Paul Chan.
Sanctioned by Washington
The next leader will take office on 1er July, day of 25and anniversary of the return to China of the former British colony.
The outgoing leader thanked Beijing for its support, recalling that her tenure had been marked by “unprecedented pressure” with the 2019 protests and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Her supporters consider her an inflexible loyalist to Beijing who has known how to stay the course during crises. “Let history judge its merit,” said Starry Lee, who leads the largest pro-Beijing party, the DAB.
Conversely, many, including Western countries, see her as the one who oversaw the collapse of political freedoms in Hong Kong.
After the huge and sometimes violent protests in 2019, the Chinese central government staged a massive crackdown in the city.
Carrie Lam is the first Hong Kong leader to be sanctioned by the United States for her support of the crackdown, which led to leading pro-democracy activists being jailed or exiled.
Record unpopularity
His government has also followed China’s “zero COVI” model.D’implementing some of the strictest sanitary measures in the world.
While border closures and draconian quarantine rules prevented any local outbreaks for 18 months, the Omicron variant has led to a record mortality rate, with nearly 8,000 deaths since the start of the year.
Over the past two years, Hong Kongers have been leaving the territory at a rate not seen since the 1990s. Thousands of foreign residents have also left, particularly in the first quarter of 2022, with the arrival of the Omicron variant and the even stricter lockdown of the city.
Mme Lam is expected to leave office with the lowest popularity for a chief executive, according to a poll by the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute.
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange was up 1.4% after its announcement.
According to Mme Lam, his successor will have an easier life. “Compared to this term, the next government will have a more stable political environment,” she told reporters.
If the return of a protest movement is unlikely, the successor of Mme Lam will need to restore international business confidence and tackle Hong Kong’s lingering problems, such as the housing shortage.