Hong Kong’s next leader is a hardline former police officer who took on the city’s protesters

It was a shocking descent into violence from what began as a peaceful march, attended by more than a million people by some estimates — roughly one in seven of the city’s population -Supporters of the security law insist it has helped establish stability in the wake of the violence and political unrest of 2019. “People’s lives and property are protected, and they can once again enjoy their legitimate rights and freedoms,” a government spokesperson said in April in response to a question on the law.But Lee’s association with the law has been met with increasing scrutiny abroad. He was among nearly a dozen people sanctioned by the US in 2020 for undermining the city’s autonomy and democratic processes — which Lee has scoffed at, recently calling the sanctions “unreasonable” and “acts of bullying.”He has also continued to defend the law, as well as recent Despite this, the outgoing Chief Executive Lam continues to claim that Hong Kong’s media sphere is “as vibrant as ever,” though she warned last week that “media organizations are not above the law … including the national security law.” Lee will also have to navigate the Covid-19 pandemic, with patience fraying among many in Hong Kong after more than two years of stringent restrictions in accordance with China’s unbending zero-Covid policy.At his policy manifesto event, Lee asserted that “at some point (the virus) will be under control,” and that he would design measures to allow businesses to operate.Cheng, the pro-democracy activist who moved to New Zealand, sees the future as being “the continuation of the hard line of the past two years.” “There is no toleration of political opposition … there will be very little tolerance of an independent media, and very little tolerance for the operation of civil society organizations,” Cheng said.When asked by CNN about accusations of diminished political freedoms, a government spokesperson responded that the rights of Hong Kong residents are “protected in accordance with the law” — but that “many freedoms and rights are not absolute, and can be restricted for reasons including protection of national security and public safety.”Disillusionment and emigrationAmong former activists and pro-democracy supporters, there’s a sense of despair as Lee prepares to take office.The circumstances of his selection, with Lee as the sole contender After the turmoil of the past three years, even a new administration is unlikely to bridge the broken relationship between the government and its people, said John Burns, emeritus professor at the University of Hong Kong. “There is a huge percentage of the population that is alienated and angry,” he said, pointing to mass emigration as “evidence of alienation … of a sick society.” Locals, expatriates and foreign companies are leaving the city in droves. More than 100,000 Hong Kongers applied for a new visa offering a path to citizenship in Britain last year; and in February and March alone this year, more than 180,000 people left the city while only about 39,000 entered, according to immigration data.While Hong Kong’s harsh Covid restrictions are helping drive this exodus, Lee’s critics say that so too is the crackdown on civil liberties he enforced.Asked about this on April 29, Lee brushed it off. He claimed Hong Kong had always seen high levels of mobility, and that its proximity to the mainland market would continue to attract businesses.”We are an inclusive city,” he told reporters. “Together, we start a new chapter for Hong Kong.”