Anyone following in her footsteps is unlikely to change the policies driving banks and bankers out of the city.
It is becoming increasingly clear that John Lee will replace Carrie Lam at the top of Hong Kong’s government after she indicated she would not stand for a second term early this week.
Should Lee become the city's next chief executive, he is likely to face widespread condemnation by democratic governments around the world given he will not be elected by full suffrage.
But that is unlikely to faze him much. He is also likely to continue to implement many of the mainland's government policy measures, providing little relief for embattled foreigners who have faced harsh COVID-19 restrictions for over two years.
Former Security Official
A government statement released earlier today indicated that Lee, who currently serves as the city’s chief secretary for administration, had tendered his resignation and was now on leave.
According to the South China Morning Post, Lee is the sole candidate endorsed by the mainland government and that this message has been relayed to key politicians in Hong Kong.
The newspaper reported he is a former police officer, and that he held two senior security positions in both the current and previous administration, a period which saw both the 2015 yellow umbrella movement and the widespread 2019 pro-democracy protests.
Little Relief for Expats
On the face of it, his policing background makes it likely that there will be little relief from the pressures ostensibly driving out foreign financial institutions and expatriate employees out of the city.
Many expats have complained assiduously about the harsh travel, quarantine, testing, and lifestyle restrictions in place related to COVID-19, some of which have been in place for over two years. An incident earlier this year when a mother was separated from her baby, who was infected with COVID-19, is largely considered to be a watershed moment for many families living here.
Since the start of a large scale fifth wave of infections related to the Omicron variant in January, public gatherings have been limited to two people and most public and leisure facilities have been closed, as have bars. Restaurant capacity and operating hours have been sharply curtailed.
Banks Moving Out
As finews.asia has previously reported, the exodus is well documented, particularly in the financial sector. Societe Generale indicated late last week it was relocating traders from Hong Kong to Singapore. Other global making similar moves include Bank of America, Citi and J.P. Morgan, which has even reportedly made plans for an overnight evacuation of staff from Hong Kong to Singapore.
Despite this, the government responded to detailed questions by councillor Paul Tse at the legislative assembly earlier today regarding the outflow of professionals and capital from the city.
The city’s treasurer, Christopher Hui, replied that any outflows were likely to be temporary.
He admitted that the inflow of individuals entering Hong Kong fell during the initial stages of the pandemic in 2020 but that they were up by 20 percent last year.
Relaxed Quarantine
Hui indicated that the recent relaxation of quarantine measure and flight bans had been well received by business and the financial service sector.
He also maintained the number of non-Hong Kong companies registered in the city continued to rise and that there were no notable signs of funds flowing out of Hong Kong or the banking system.
