China's Pro-China Police Officer Elected Hong Kong Secretary for Administration as 'Patriot'

Western Bloc Including the US Accuses Hong Kong Election of Malicious Distortion
New York Mayor Also Former Police Officer... Mention of Hong Kong Human Rights Deemed Interference

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Cho Young-shin] Chinese state-run media have come out in defense of John Lee, the newly elected Chief Executive of Hong Kong. Lee was elected on the 8th in the 6th Hong Kong Chief Executive election with an overwhelming 99.2% of the vote (1,416 out of 1,428 votes).

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In response, Western media such as the New York Times (NYT) criticized that Lee, who led the police crackdown during the anti-government protests in Hong Kong, was handpicked by the Chinese government to run unopposed and win, expressing concerns about the acceleration of Hong Kong's integration into China. This is the first time a former police officer has been elected as Hong Kong's Chief Executive.

The Chinese Communist Party's official newspaper, the People's Daily, reported on the front page of its March 9 edition with the headline "A Hong Kong governed by patriots will open a new era," stating that former Hong Kong Chief Secretary John Lee was elected under the revised election law.

The Chinese government revised the election law in March 2021 to allow only pro-China figures to run in elections. The People's Daily emphasized that this year marks the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's handover and that the revised election law will promote Hong Kong's political, economic, and social development, leading to greater success of the "one country, two systems" principle.

The People's Daily, seemingly aware of Western criticism of the indirect election system from the United States and the European Union (EU), urged external forces to stop interfering in internal affairs, stating that they continue to maliciously slander China.

The tone of Xinhua News Agency is even more assertive. Xinhua expressed displeasure that mainstream Western media, including the United States, are distorting the elected candidate's past police experience and attacking Hong Kong's election law. It cited Eric Adams, the current mayor of New York City, who is also a former police officer, and mentioned other past U.S. mayors with police backgrounds.

Xinhua claimed that the Western camp, including the United States, is slandering Hong Kong's election with the aim of suppressing China's development, arguing that their real concern is not Hong Kong's human rights and democracy but China's internal affairs.

The Global Times reported that Hong Kong will escape social turmoil and develop over the next five years, stating that this election will be a successful example of Hong Kong-style democracy.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.