HONG KONG: Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam announced on Monday that she will step down in June, ending a divisive term that saw democracy protests squashed and strict pandemic curbs plunge the business hub into international isolation.

Ending months of speculation, Lam confirmed she would not seek a second term when a committee made up of the city’s political elite chooses a new leader next month.

“I will complete my five-year term as chief executive on June 30, and officially conclude my 42-year career in government,” Lam told reporters.

She said China’s leaders “understood and respected” her choice not to seek another term and that she wanted to spend more time with her family.

The 64-year-old had dodged questions for months over her future but revealed on Monday she had informed Beijing of her plans to quit more than a year ago.

A career bureaucrat, Lam became Hong Kong’s first woman leader in 2017 but she is on track to leave office with record-low approval ratings.

Kenneth Chan, a political scientist at Baptist University, said Hong Kong leaders have always suffered from a “chronic legitimacy crisis” because they are not popularly elected. But Lam had lost support across the political spectrum.

“Not merely among the pro-democracy citizens but also increasingly among the pro-Beijing camp as she has done such a terrible job with the pandemic,” Chan said.

Hong Kongers and businesses based in the finance hub have little clarity on who will be the next leader at a time when Beijing is increasingly calling the shots directly.

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2022