"John Lee's background is that of a policeman, a law enforcer. This suggests that Beijing places its view of law and order at the front and centre of ruling #HongKong,” @ChongJaIan told BBC. bbc.com/news/world-asi…
Dr Professor Steve Tsang of the China Institute at SOAS agrees, calling Mr Lee "Beijing's enforcer".
His appointment confirms that "Beijing intends to have its man in Hong Kong toe the party line and do what Beijing expects it to do."
Analysts also say Mr Lee's lack of popular support leaves little choice for him but to continue relying on Beijing to secure his political position.
"Given he was one of the top officials responsible for transforming the Hong Kong police from a respected local institution into the most hated and despised of government departments, this background does not give him much of a power base," said Dr Tsang.
"It means he does not have wide support and is beholden to Beijing for his office."
John Lee has pledged to enact legislation to bolster the national security law - a move that could potentially see him criminalising other areas not already covered under the Beijing-imposed law.
"It will be another indicator of a further erosion of Hong Kong's civil liberties," says @chungchingkwong.
Hong Kong is also more likely to become "more integrated into the mainland", says Dr Tsang. "The old Hong Kong, which existed prior to 2020, will not have a chance of re-emerging."
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“Washington should be careful what it wishes for. #China is a massive economy, and a full-blown economic crash would be as damaging to the world as another sub-prime mortgage crisis in the US or the breakup of the euro.” theguardian.com/world/2022/may…
“Growth is slowing and not just because of the tough restrictions insisted upon by President Xi Jinping. Flaws in China’s economic model coupled with a more hostile geopolitical climate mean the days of explosive expansion are over.”
“Unlike the US the UK or the euro area, China is not facing the inflationary problem that has prompted central banks to raise (or think about raising) interest rates.
"Finland has formally confirmed it intends to join Nato, abandoning decades of military non-alignment in a historic decision triggered by Russia’s invasion of #Ukraine." theguardian.com/world/2022/may…
“Finland is applying for Nato membership. A protected Finland is being born as part of a stable, strong and responsible Nordic region. We gain security and we also share it. It’s good to keep in mind that security isn’t a zero-sum game," said Finland’s president, Sauli Niinistö
The prime minister, Sanna Marin, said the proposal would now be sent to parliament for ratification. “Our decision is historic,” she said. “As a member of Nato, we will also be responsible for the security of the alliance as a whole.”
Important story from @hkfp: "The list of closed platforms also includes Citizen News. But a number of small-scale local Chinese-language outlets are still telling the stories of #HongKong in an independent voice." hongkongfp.com/2022/05/09/exp…
“[A]lthough the environment changed, most of us have remained in our position and try our best to find the truth for the Hong Kong community,” said Ronson Chan, chair of the Hong Kong Journalists Association.
Founded by “a small group of former Apple Daily employees” on July 21 last year, Channel C HK has won more than 200,000 subscribers on YouTube, over 185,000 Instagram followers and nearly 80,000 likes on Facebook in just nine months.
"#China’s leaders can see in their neighbours a Covid situation that they fear could be their fate if the virus takes hold and they have responded with a lockdown in #Shanghai that has lasted seven weeks and shows no immediate signs of ending." theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
"As locals stay confined to their homes, drones fly near apartment blocks, intoning the phrase: “Control your soul’s desire for freedom.” China can still argue that in absolute terms its “zero-Covid” policy has had remarkable success in preventing deaths."
"But it has come at a price; there is no clear policy for how China can reopen its borders to live with a virus that scientists expect to become endemic, or how to deal with it, other than with repeated lockdowns that harm the fragile economy and have led to increased panic ...
An Australian family's departure from #Shanghai: "We were lucky to be able to leave, but so many people are not in [that] position. I feel like we abandoned our neighbours… they were really happy that we were able to go, but I felt terrible leaving them." abc.net.au/news/2022-05-1…
"Last month, the family decided to return to Australia after seeing increasing numbers of COVID-19 cases in their neighbourhood and due to fear of the government separating infected children from their parents."
"People have been taken away in the middle of the night from our lane. Screaming. It was awful," Vivian said.
"Amid the unfolding crisis, #China has gone further and drawn a parallel between NATO and the US’ Indo-Pacific strategy announced by the Biden administration in February." channelnewsasia.com/cna-insider/us…
"Key thrusts of the new US strategy include a free and open Indo-Pacific; supporting India’s continued rise and regional leadership; strengthening the Quad; strengthening extended deterrence with Japan and South Korea; ...
... expanding US Coastguard presence; contributing to an empowered Asean; and closing the region’s infrastructure gap."