WHEN journalists in Hong Kong received news that Leung Chung-ying was preparing to hold a press conference on December 9th, they thought he might announce that he would run for a second five-year term as the territory’s chief executive—the campaign season is about to begin. Instead, he revealed that he would not join the race in order to protect his family from the “intolerable stress” of it. Hong Kong’s most unpopular leader since the end of British colonial rule in 1997 will therefore be replaced on July 1st next year.
Few people in Hong Kong are likely to believe that Mr Leung’s explanation for his decision is a full one. The chief executive is all but appointed by the central government in Beijing—in effect, the Communist Party. It has considerable behind-the-scenes influence over who gets the job and for how long (the maximum is ten years). Mr Leung said leaders in Beijing were happy with his work, but is that the case?
It had been widely assumed that the central leadership would prefer Mr Leung to stay on because replacing him would send the wrong signal to Hong Kong’s pro-democracy activists. During the “Umbrella Movement” of 2014,...Continue reading
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