By: Tim Hamlett
Effectively, it’s a must to say one factor about Hong Kong’s manner of selecting a brand new chief govt: it is fast. Nominations opened on Sunday and it’s already throughout. Barring some critical accident or sickness, the following CE would be the present Chief Secretary, John Lee Ka-chiu.
For the reason that election “reforms” imposed unilaterally by Beijing final 12 months, the CE is “elected” by an Election Committee. It is a revamped model of the outdated system, by which the Election Committee was shaped by way of quite a lot of elections and ex officio members.
The revised model has been purged of unreliable parts. There at the moment are 5 sectors, every with 300 members. Certainly one of them consists totally of nominees of the Beijing or Hong Kong governments. Anybody wishing to run should acquire 188 nominations, together with not less than 15 members from every sector.
That is, and was supposed to be, a system open to manipulation by the native representatives of the Beijing authorities, and certainly no effort has been made to hide the workings of the system. Lee’s expression of his intention to resign from his current submit and run for Chief Govt was intently adopted by a gathering on the Liaison Workplace (China’s de facto imperial HQ in Hong Kong) attended by chosen Election Committee bigwigs, who all emerged lauding Mr. Lee’s many virtues and pledging to vote for him.
Sources say that Lee would be the solely candidate supported by Beijing, and the “election” will comply with alongside the identical traces because the final chief govt election in Macau, the place there was just one candidate. This association was once so frequent amongst Latin American army dictators that it’s recognized in educational circles by its identify in Spanish: candidatounico.
Lee has an uncommon background for a senior Hong Kong civil servant. His fundamental profession was within the police power, by which he rose to the rank of assistant police commissioner. In 2012, getting ready to retirement, he left the power to develop into undersecretary for safety. 5 years later he grew to become the secretary for safety. He was promoted once more, to chief secretary, in June of final 12 months.
As secretary for safety, Lee displayed the kind of willingness to flout the desires of the general public in the event that they conflicted with these of his superiors, which works down effectively with the Liaison Workplace expertise spotters.
He pushed by way of the situation of mainland customs and immigration officers within the Kowloon terminus of the brand new specific rail hyperlink. He closed the (allegedly pro-independence) Hong Kong Nationwide Get together and was in cost each of the fugitive invoice which sparked the 2019 protests, and of the fierce policing which turned them right into a wider motion.
He has proceeded to shut newspapers and preside over the arrests of politicians, undeterred by his look on the listing of Hong Kong officers sanctioned by abroad governments for his or her function in curbing the town’s freedoms.
Earlier occupants of the chief govt’s workplace have discovered that their preliminary recognition waned as their phrases went on. Lee shall be spared this fear. With this historical past the one place left for his recognition to go is up.
Some discreet misgivings have been expressed about his suitability for the job. Quickly after his appointment as chief secretary the then chief exec, Carrie Lam, mentioned that she knew he didn’t know a lot about issues exterior the safety specialty and she or he would assist out with “the opposite stuff.” That is now somewhat implausibly characterised as a joke. Lam hardly ever jokes.
Hong Kong’s senior civil servants have typically come from what is known as the Administrative Officer (AO) grade. These are folks recruited as recent graduates and put by way of a kind of “officer manufacturing facility” course of supposed to supply generalist consultants in administration as a separate ability.
Two of Hong Kong’s first 4 chief executives got here from this course of. Two have been from a enterprise background. None of them was terribly profitable and none of them to date, together with Lam, managed to serve two full phrases.
Recently, there was some muttering in pro-Beijing circles that the AO grade types a kind of internal circle within the civil service, passively resisting initiatives they disapprove of. Lee can little doubt be trusted to comply with orders. However working a police power will not be like working a civil service. Really working the Hong Kong Police Power will not be very like working a police power both, it’s extra like working a military. Nonetheless…
Lee is now reported to be assembling a “marketing campaign crew” which is able to work on his election prospects. It’ll apparently focus on election committee members within the early levels, and transfer on to most of the people later. That is an empty ritual. Lee can have no critical opposition and would face no actual prospect of defeat if he had. Most people has no say within the matter anyway.
Nonetheless, will probably be attention-grabbing to look at Lee’s effort to show himself right into a political determine. Individuals who have labored with him on a face-to-face foundation say he’s tolerant and keen to hearken to completely different views. This isn’t a high quality which he has displayed in public.
He may additionally work a bit on the humorless persona. Lee might for all we all know be a star flip within the Hong Kong Police Stand-up Comedy Membership however in his official appearances, he appears like somebody who fears that a part of his face will fall off if he cracks a smile.