China’s premier Li Keqiang shut down any notion of Hong Kong independence last month, saying the idea “would lead nowhere”, and each of the three candidates has also rejected the idea.
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The vote is the first since huge protests erupted over the election system in 2014.
The election took place at a time when tensions with Beijing have been on the rise.
In a nutshell: What is happening? .
A woman shouts and holds a banner with the picture of candidate Carrie Lam as she joins others protesting during the election for Hong Kong’s next chief executive in China on Sunday.
If the pressure put on Beijing and the establishment has changed in nature, it is still very much present and pervasive, and the very fact that C.Y. Leung was not allowed to stand for a second mandate suggests that the central authorities are well aware of the present state of mind of society – an honorary united-front title hardly compensates.
Meanwhile, more than 290 pro-democracy lawmakers have pledged their support for Mr Tsang. The third candidate, retired judge Woo Kwok-hing, got 21 votes.
She served as deputy to Hong Kong’s outgoing leader Leung Chun-ying and is tainted by her association with an unpopular figure who was criticised for doing Beijing’s bidding while in office.
“It will simply make governing Hong Kong much more hard in the next five years”.
Mrs Lam, a career civil servant, received 777 votes from a committee dominated by pro-Beijing elites, against her more publicly popular rival’s 365 votes. “It only reflects the ability of Beijing to control [election committee] members”.
However, most of the committee is elected by business, professional or special interest groups. “Beijing’s trust is the most, if not the only, important criterion”, he said.
Hundreds of protesters had also taken to the streets on Saturday to protests their exclusion from the electoral process for the city’s chief executive. She can secure enough votes to win, but not the hearts and minds of the people.
Incumbent CY Leung limped over the line with 689 votes in 2012 – despite having Beijing’s backing.
“Did they really support her platform?”
The detention in 2015 of five Hong Kong booksellers who sold material critical of Beijing also dismayed many residents.
“I have an understanding from the beginning that those who nominated him into the race might not necessarily backed him in the election”.
Protesters denounced what they called Beijing’s interference, accusing China of lobbying the voters to back Lam.
It was eventually voted down in parliament by pro-democracy lawmakers and reforms have been shelved ever since. “It will give the pan-democratic camp a lot of ammunition to keep protesting and fighting for the next 5 years”.
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So what are the candidates like? Opinion polls show that many members of the public distrust Lam due to her hardline approach and her controversial role in a project to build a Hong Kong branch of Beijing’s Palace Museum. She’s been nicknamed the “Iron Lady”.
