Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced on Monday that she will not seek a second five-year term to be the leader of the region.
Her tenure has been marked by mass pro-democracy protests in 2019, the criminalization of political protest, and, most recently, a COVID-19 wave in China’s special administrative district. Her term ends on June 30, and her successor will be chosen in May.
“I will complete my five-year term as chief executive on the 30th of June this year, and I will also call an end to my 42 years of public service,” Lam said at a news conference on Monday.
Lam, 64, said she plans to spend more time with her family when her term ends, according to a report.
JOE BIDEN CONFIDENT HUNTER DIDN’T BREAK LAW OR DO ANYTHING UNETHICAL IN CHINA, KLAIN SAYS
She thanked central authorities in Beijing for sticking by her through a tumultuous tenure.
“Less than two years into my chief executive term, because of the anti-extradition bill and because of interference from foreign forces and also the attack of COVID-19, I was under great pressure,” Lam said. “However, the motivation for me to press on was the very staunch support behind me by the central authorities.”
Legislation that would have allowed criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland China for trial ignited mass protests in Hong Kong in 2019 that received worldwide media attention. Authorities in Hong Kong arrested over 10,000 people involved in the pro-democracy protests.
In June 2020, Lam strongly supported and implemented a national security law backed by Beijing that criminalized most forms of political protest and dissent and handed more control of regional affairs to the mainland Chinese government.
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This month, as countries around the world opened up, a resurgence of COVID-19 in Hong Kong put an estimated 300,000 residents, roughly 4% of its population, in isolation. The spread of the coronavirus took place despite Hong Kong having some of the most rigid mitigation measures in the world. Lam said that Hong Kong’s entire population would be forced to undergo coronavirus testing three times in March.
Hong Kong’s second in command, John Lee, is likely to enter the race to succeed Lam, according to a report. Lee was the chief of security during the crackdown on the protests in 2019.
