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- Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam announced she won’t seek reelection.
- Lam was elected Chief Executive of Hong Kong in 2017.
- She admitted she faced “unprecedented pressure” during her tenure, due to COVID-19 and pro-democracy protests.
On Monday, Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam, 64, announced during a press conference that she won’t be seeking a second term as the island’s chief executive.
The decision not to run for a second term effectively ends Lam’s 42-year political career.
“There’s only one consideration and that is family. I have told everyone before that family is my first priority in terms of my consideration. They think it’s time for me to go home,” she said.
But Lam also admitted that she had faced “unpreceded and enormous pressure” during 2019’s pro-democracy protests and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
She also said she contended with “nonstop interference of foreign forces” but declined to name specific foreign actors.
Lam has dealt with increasing pressure and oversight from Beijing, which culminated in the June 2020 passage of the Hong Kong Security Law, which criminalized Hong Kong’s secession from China and cracked down on pro-democracy protesters.
A source told local broadcaster TVB that Hong Kong’s chief secretary John Lee planned to resign in order to run to replace Lam, CNA reported.
Lam’s current term will end on June 30.
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