Hong Kong's new chief executive has an abusive past, says rights group

John Lee, the only candidate for Hong Kong's top post, has been elected for the sixth term as the chief executive of the city-state.

He was elected as the sixth-term chief executive designate of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Sunday. Lee's appointment is being seen as a move by the Chinese government to tighten its grip on the city.

During his over-30-year career in the Hong Kong police force, Lee held various posts including chief superintendent, assistant commissioner, senior assistant commissioner and deputy commissioner of police.

"As Hong Kong's secretary for security--and therefore one of Beijing's right-hand men in Hong Kong--during the 2019 protests against an extradition bill, Lee showed blatant disregard for people's safety," said Maya Wang, Senior China Researcher at Human Rights Watch (HRW).

Lee has repeatedly shielded the police from accountability, according to HRW.

Regarding public calls for an independent investigation into police brutality, he maintained that the existing complaints mechanism - one that is part of the Police Force - is adequate.

According to Wang, this performance has yielded him two promotions: first as the city's chief secretary, and now, as the city's chief executive. This is seemingly in conflict with Hong Kong public opinion polls, which have consistently shown that over 80 per cent of people support an independent commission of inquiry to look into police misconduct.

The China Researcher went on to argue that Beijing's selection of an abusive former police official heightens concerns of an expansion of its repressive policies in the city.

"Chillingly, Lee is well-known for having praised Beijing's severe abuses in Xinjiang against the Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims under the guise of countering terrorism--which Human Rights Watch found amounted to crimes against humanity."

According to Lee, these abusive policies are "worthy of consideration" for Hong Kong as the city faces a "growing" threat of "domestic terrorism."

Since Beijing imposed the first dreaded security law or the National Security Law in June 2020, it has aggressively dismantled the city's freedoms.

The law has decapitated the pro-democracy movement, arrested hundreds of protesters, shut down outspoken media, civil society groups, and businesses, and otherwise created a climate of fear.

"In showing nothing but disdain for Hong Kong people's rights, and in choosing a person with an abusive record to take the reins over a city already reeling with rights violations, Beijing continues to push many Hong Kong people--who once trusted it--into thinking that their future is incompatible with that of the Chinese government," Wang said.

( With inputs from ANI )