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Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam said on Monday she would not seek a second five-year term. "There’s only one consideration and that is family. I have told everyone before that family is my first priority in terms of my consideration. They think it’s time for me to go home," Lam told a regular press briefing. Lam added she would complete her five-year term on 30th June which would bring an end to 42 years of public service. She said she had already informed Beijing's leaders about her decision. Hong Kong's leadership election is due to take place on 8 May after it was postponed for six weeks in March in light of the city's worst coronavirus outbreak. The city's chief secretary John Lee, the No. 2 official in the global financial hub, is the front runner to take over from Lam. Lee was the city's head of security during the 2019 pro-democracy protests that rocked — and transformed — the semi-autonomous city. Hong Kong's leader is elected by a committee made of lawmakers, representatives of various industries, as well as pro-Beijing representatives like deputies to China's parliament. It is this 1,500-member election committee, effectively tacked with Beijing loyalists, that will choose the next chief executive. Lam, a former civil servant, was sworn into office as the fourth chief executive by Chinese President Xi Jinping on 1 July, 2017. Hong Kong became more isolated globally during her term due to a crackdown on pro-democracy protests and rigid COVID-19 restrictions. Lam, who promised to unite the city under the threat of Chinese interference when she first took office, found it difficult to balance relations between the city-state and Beijing interests through the years. Lam's reputation declined after the 2019 protests and the 2020 Chinese impostion of a draconian national security law which made it easier to punish protesters in Hong Kong. In 2020, she was sanctioned by the US Treasury for her part in curtailing political freedoms in Hong Kong. Her management of COVID pandemic was also heavily criticized as the city-state recorded hundred of deaths last month. Hong Kong was initially slated to hold the chief executive election on 27 March but the poll was postponed for six weeks until 8 May in light of the pandemic. Lam had been tipped as the race front-runner, but she said her decision had been conveyed to the central government in Beijing last year and was met with "respect and understanding.'' rm, lo/rs (AP, Reuters)
