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進入《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 Beijing pick Lam named next HK chief
A yellow umbrella, the symbol of the Occupy Central movement, is held up in front of Carrie Lam, center, as she is announced the winner of the election for Hong Kong’s next chief executive in Hong Kong yesterday. Next to her are John Tsang, left, and Woo Kwok-hing, right. Photo: Reuters
GOODBYE MR ’CHIPS’: Former secretary of finance John Tsang, who came second, was far more popular among ordinary people, in part for his deft use of social media
/ AP, HONG KONG
The candidate favored by Beijing’s Chinese Communist Party leaders was chosen as Hong Kong’s new leader yesterday, in the first such vote since huge pro-democracy protests erupted over the territory’s election system in 2014.
A committee dominated by pro-Beijing elites selected former Hong Kong chief secretary for administration Carrie Lam （林鄭月娥） as chief executive even though she was far less popular than her main rival. Lam received 67 percent of the votes cast by the 1,194-member Election Committee.
Her victory was hardly a surprise. China’s leaders had lobbied heavily behind the scenes for the 59-year-old Lam, who is to become Hong Kong’s first female leader and its fourth since British colonial control ended in 1997.
After the votes were counted, she bowed to the crowd and shook hands with the second-place finisher, former Hong Kong secretary of finance John Tsang （曾俊華）.
Some pro-democracy supporters in the official seating area yelled slogans and held up a yellow umbrella, the symbol of the 2014 protests, as the results were announced.
The elite Election Committee was at the root of the protests, with activists decrying the lack of a direct choice by Hong Kong’s 3.8 million registered voters.
Democracy supporters called yesterday’s vote a “fake election” and blasted Beijing for meddling in Hong Kong’s affairs.
Political party Demosisto, founded by the young pro-democracy protest leader Joshua Wong （黃之鋒）, said in a Facebook post that “this result is a nightmare to Hong Kongers.”
It said it would organize “a large civil disobedience protest” when Lam is sworn in on July 1.
Taipei yesterday congratulated Lam on her election and said it hoped for continued close cooperation with the territory.
“It is hoped that Taiwan and Hong Kong will maintain an outlook based on mutual benefits and improve their bilateral ties in a pragmatic way,” the Mainland Affairs Council said in a statement.
The New Power Party （NPP） issued a statement saying the Election Committee does not adequately represent the will of Hong Kongers.
Beijing’s actions show that the Umbrella movement’s demands for equitable representation and genuine elections demanded remain unheeded, the statement said.
However, such moves would not be able to suppress Hong Kongers’ will to democracy and self-determination, the NPP said, adding that Taiwanese stand alongside Hong Kongers in their struggle for freedom.
Lam, a lifelong civil servant, has a reputation as an efficient and pragmatic administrator, but is unpopular with Hong Kongers because she is seen as a proxy for Beijing and out of touch with ordinary people.
Tsang is highly popular because of his easygoing persona and deft use of social media. He was nicknamed “Pringles” or “Uncle Chips” in Cantonese for his signature mustache that drew comparisons to the snack food mascot.
Lam received 777 of the 1,163 validly cast votes. Tsang got 365 votes, or 31 percent, while the third candidate, retired judge Woo Kwok-hing （胡國興）, had 21 votes.
As the next leader, Lam will inherit a territory roiled by political divisions, including a burgeoning independence movement, and saddled with sluggish economic growth. Many fear that Beijing is tightening control and undermining the “one country, two systems” framework that guarantees Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy.
Lam’s ability to soothe tensions relies on how much public support she can gain. She lagged far behind Tsang in opinion polls.
“My priority will be to heal the divide and to ease the frustrations and to unite our society to move forward,” she said at a news conference after the results were announced.
Lam said she would not immediately revive attempts to revamp the electoral system, a potential political flashpoint that could rekindle protests by pro-democracy supporters.
She said she wanted to focus on other more pressing issues such as housing, education and healthcare.
“There is a serious divide in Hong Kong, so why don’t we start with the easier subjects and try to reach consensus” on how to tackle them, she said.
China’s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office said in a statement that Lam met the standards to be the territory’s leader, including “being trusted by the central government,” a key factor that Tsang’s opponents repeatedly said he did not enjoy.
When reporters asked Tsang yesterday whether he thought Beijing had interfered in the selection process, he said he respected the decision of the Election Committee members.
“I mean, all they have is themselves and their conscience when they voted. So it’s their responsibility, nobody else’s,” Tsang said.
Members of the Election Committee include tycoons such as Li Ka-shing （李嘉誠）, Hong Kong’s richest person. They represent industry and trade groups such as finance, accounting, real estate and textiles.
The way the members are chosen also irks democracy advocates. Some are elected by peers, but others are uncontested, especially in sectors most supportive of Beijing.
Hong Kong lawmakers, local councilors and delegates to China’s National People’s Congress also have votes and 326 seats, mostly in the education, legal, health and social welfare sectors, are held by pro-democracy supporters.
Additional reporting by CNA and Yang Chun-hui
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
