On Sunday, John Lee was endorsed for Hong Kong's top job by a pro-Beijing committee as the financial hub continues its alignment with the mainland's communist party (CCP) leadership following years of demonstrations against Beijing's political upheaval of the former British colony.

On Sunday morning, 1,416 members of a pro-Beijing election committee voted for Lee, the single contender, giving him the requisite majority to become Hong Kong's next leader. Eight individuals voted against him.

Lee stated that it was his "historic mission" to usher in a new era for Hong Kong. He pledged to unite the city and maintain Hong Kong's worldwide standing as an open, more competitive financial center connecting China to the rest of the world.

Despite communist China's vows to offer complete democracy to the former British colony, which returned to Chinese authority in 1997, few of the city's 7.4 million residents have a role in choosing its leader.

Police prevented a tiny group of protesters from approaching the location, where security was extremely tight.

Chan Po-Ying, a member of the League of Social Democrats, held up a banner demanding genuine democracy and stated, "We believe we speak for many Hong Kong residents in our opposition to this China-style, single-candidate election."

Lee, a former Hong Kong secretary for security, has aggressively implemented the CCP's national security law, which has been used to arrest a large number of individuals who oppose the regime's communist rule, disband civil society groups, and close liberal media outlets such as Apple Daily and Stand News.

Freedoms and the rule of law, according to Western governments, particularly the United States, have been compromised by the security measures enforced by Beijing in 2020.

The protracted anti-CCP and pro-democracy rallies in 2019 were in response to the pro-Beijing government's proposed extradition bill, which would have allowed people suspected of crimes to be extradited to face prosecution in China's politicized courts.

Lee avoided queries about whether he would pursue reconciliation with democratic advocates of the opposition and those who have been imprisoned.

Lee told reporters that safeguarding the nation's sovereignty, national security, and development interests, defending Hong Kong from internal and external threats, and ensuring its stability will continue to be paramount.

Some critics believe that penalties placed on Lee by the United States in 2020 for his alleged involvement in "coercing, arresting, detaining, or imprisoning individuals" under the security statute could hinder his efforts to relaunch Hong Kong internationally.

Alphabet Inc., the owner of YouTube, stated that it removed the Lee campaign's YouTube account to comply with U.S. sanctions legislation.

Lee stated that his chief aim would be to increase the housing supply in one of the most expensive housing markets in the world and enhance policy efficacy with a "results-oriented approach" to this entrenched problem.