3 candidates to run for HK’s new leader
Print Edition
TWO former officials and a retired judge yesterday won the right to compete to become the next leader of Hong Kong.
The next chief executive is the fourth since Hong Kong returned to the motherland 20 years ago.
“The coming five to 10 years is key,” said former head of Hong Kong’s legislature Jasper Tsang, on the future of “one country, two systems” in a radio interview on Monday.
The contest for the five-year term is the first since mass street protests rocked Hong Kong in late 2014, ending with the streets being cleared and no concession by the government of incumbent leader Leung Chun-ying, who is not seeking a second term.
“I hear clear and loud the people want the society to be unified again. People want to restore social harmony, so Hong Kong can move on with the many issues we need to tackle,” former civil service chief and election front runner Carrie Lam said on Monday.
Lam, 59, grabbed the most nominations out of a 1,200-strong election committee. The committee will pick the next leader on March 26.
If elected, Lam would become Hong Kong’s first female leader.
Former Financial Secretary John Tsang and retired judge Woo Kwok-hing also made it on the ballot after nominations closed yesterday.
The winner of the race will likely be sworn in on the day of the 20th anniversary of the 1997 handover on July 1.
The election has been the talk of the city for months, with the candidates’ photos and caricatures dominating newspaper front pages and social media walls.
Lam, nicknamed “fighter,” received backing from many of the city’s powerful property tycoons, but the richest of them all, Li Ka-shing, has refrained from publicly throwing his support behind any candidate.
Tsang, 65, received just enough nominations to get on the ballot.
Affectionately called “Uncle Pringles” for his resemblance to the crisps brand icon, Tsang presents a softer image more in touch with the city’s youth.
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