Chief Executive-elect John Lee on Monday said he had worked hard to win Hong Kong’s top job, adding that he disagreed with criticism made by the European Union of the election.
At a media stand-up between meetings, Lee was asked if he would thank Beijing’s Liaison Office for “helping” with his campaign when he met mainland officials in the afternoon.
In response, he said he had made a lot of effort to explain his manifesto and win the support of the people he met both in person and online during the campaign.
“I hope when people saw all these activities and the work that we conducted tirelessly every day… I hope [the media] would also reflect these activities to the people of Hong Kong so that they saw how hard I worked and how hard my colleagues worked together with me. So it was my personal efforts,” he said.
Lee also refuted the European Union’s criticism of the uncontested Chief Executive race, saying the election was conducted according to the law, and the electoral system had been improved after “years of chaos”.
“How we run Hong Kong affairs is a matter of the Hong Kong SAR and also a matter of our country. But I think people are adopting double standards,” he said.
In a statement released after Sunday’s election, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell Fontelles, said the EU “regrets this violation of democratic principles and political pluralism and sees this selection process as yet another step in the dismantling of the ‘one country, two systems’ principle.”
“The European Union attaches great importance to the preservation of Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy as well as respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, including media freedom, democratic principles and the rule of law, in line with the Basic Law and with international commitments,” it said.
Lee reiterated that freedoms and rights enjoyed by Hong Kong people are enshrined in the Basic Law, but that doesn’t mean people can violate the law.
He said he stressed the importance of safeguarding the rule of law and judicial independence during his meeting on Monday with Chief Justice Andrew Cheung, adding his new administration would fully support the judiciary in terms of resources.
He said he also discussed how to strengthen communication between officials and lawmakers for the city’s best interests with Legco President Andrew Leung.
