John Lee, candidate and probable successor to Carrie Lam at the head of Hong Kong

John Lee, right, following the flag-raising ceremony for the Chinese National Day celebration, in Hong Kong on October 1, 2021. AP - Kin Cheung

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Two days after Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced that she was giving up on running for a new term, the number two of the special administrative region, John Lee, announced this Wednesday April 6 his candidacy.

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, John Lee is in the eyes of Beijing the ideal candidate to succeed

, who is stepping down on June 30, after 42 years of good and loyal service.

According to observers, the current right-hand man of Carrie Lam is tipped to become the next leader of the Chinese special administrative region, because it is also the only one to have the full support of Beijing.

►Read again: Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam wants to step down

John Lee is the island's security man.

During his career, he climbed all the ranks of the police, to become the head of the security services and then the right arm of Ms. Lam.

This sixty-year-old oversaw the violent police repression of the gigantic pro-democracy demonstrations three years ago.

He was sanctioned by the United States for this.

Loyalty, discipline and national security will be the watchwords of a government led by Mr. Lee, experts say.

Another potential suitor: Finance Minister Paul Chan.

However, the future leader not being elected by universal suffrage, but by a committee fully committed to the Beijing regime, the result is hardly in doubt.

Carrie Lam, center, John Lee on the left and Paul Chan on the right, during a press conference in Hong Kong, March 21, 2022. AP - Vincent Yu

Verdict on May 8 for taking office on July 1, the 25th anniversary of the return to the People's Republic of China of the former British colony.

►Dossier: Hong Kong, from the retrocession, on July 1, 1997, to the repression

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• hong kong

• China

• Carrie Lam