Hong Kong Elite Elect China-Backed Candidate as City Leader
- Former No. 2 Carrie Lam defeats popular ex-financial secretary
- Chief executive picked by panel dominated by Beijing loyalists
Lam Wins Resounding Victory to Be HK's Next Leader
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Hong Kong’s former No. 2 official, Carrie Lam, was elected as the city’s chief executive, giving China its preferred choice to lead the fractious financial hub.
Lam, 59, won 67 percent of votes cast Sunday by an electoral college of 1,194 businessmen, professionals and politicians that selects leaders for the former British colony, according to final results. Her chief rival, ex-Financial Secretary John Tsang, 65, got 31 percent, despite greater popularity among the general public and support from the committee’s pro-democracy bloc. A third candidate, retired judge Woo Kwok-hing, received 1.8 percent.