John Lee Dismisses Idea Of Conflict Of Interest

Chief Executive hopeful John Lee has dismissed concern over a potential conflict of interest arising from the work of his family members, saying they were not involved in his election campaigning.

Lee made the comment on Thursday after FactWire News Agency reported that his two sons have business connections with election committee members.

“I am really thankful that my family supports me to run for the election, but the election is my personal affair. I don’t want them to be affected in any way because of my participation in the election. So I will not comment on my family’s personal situation,” he said.

“But my election work has nothing to do with my family. They did not take part. My campaign work is primarily done by myself and my campaign office. So there’s no potential so-called conflict of interest whatsoever.”

Asked about Beijing's decision not to appoint a replacement chief secretary, Lee said he believes suitable arrangements will make up for the vacancy.

Meanwhile, Lee reiterated that enacting Article 23 of the Basic Law to legislate on the city’s own national security laws will be one of his top priorities if he is elected.

Speaking to reporters after attending a virtual meeting with election committee members of the legal and accounting sectors, Lee said he understands that the current administration has already done a lot of work regarding Article 23 legislation.

Lee said he would discuss the work needed to be done with relevant bureaus and staff if he became CE.

The former chief secretary also remarked that politics is now “getting into” the courts, citing the recent resignation of two Britons as non-permanent judges of the SAR’s Court of Final Appeal.

He said foreign countries should not interfere with the administration of justice.

“We have seen there is a trend that some countries try to pursue their political aims and somehow put pressure on people who have an important role in the administration of justice," he said.

“The recent resignations of overseas judges have indicated that the series of events gives people the impression that politics has got into administration of justice, which is bad because we believe justice should be for justice’s sake, and any other interference is against the rule of law, " he added.

“I would also appeal to the international community to also play their part so that administration of justice, which is the most important cornerstone of world activities, should not be in any way affected by interferences other than people who are involved in the legal system, who will administer the law truthfully and wholeheartedly.”

Meanwhile, the government said the returning officer of the election, Justice Keith Yeung, received one nomination form, from Lee, by the deadline to submit at 5pm.

The Candidate Eligibility Review Committee will assess his eligibility in the next seven days.

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