John Lee Ka-chiu (; born 7 December 1957), also spelled as John KC Lee is a Hong Kong politician and former police officer who is the fifth and current chief executive of Hong Kong since 1 July 2022.
Originally a police officer, Lee served as the deputy commissioner of the Hong Kong Police Force from 2010 till 2012, when he was appointed under secretary of security under the Leung government. After Carrie Lam became chief executive in 2017, Lee was promoted to secretary for security. In 2021, he succeeded Matthew Cheung as chief secretary for administration, a post he served until 2022.
Lee was the sole candidate approved by the central government of China in the 2022 Hong Kong Chief Executive election. He was subsequently chosen to succeed Carrie Lam, taking office on 1 July 2022. A pro-Beijing politician, Lee is known as being a hardliner against the pro-democracy camp in Hong Kong, having played a key role in the crackdown of the opposition. He signed the local legislation Safeguarding National Security Ordinance into law in 2024. In 2026, he launched the city's first Five-Year Plan.
Early life and education Lee was born on 7 December 1957 in Hong Kong, with ancestral roots from Panyu, Guangzhou. He grew up in So Uk Estate, Kowloon. He graduated from Wah Yan College, Kowloon, a secondary school run by the Roman Catholic Jesuit religious order.
Lee obtained 4A in the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination and 1A in the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination, and was offered admission to the undergraduate engineering program at the University of Hong Kong. He did not enroll and instead joined the Royal Hong Kong Police Force, citing family reasons.
In 1980, John Lee married Janet Lee Lam Lai-sim (). They have two sons.
During his tenure as a police officer, Lee received a Master of Public Policy and Management from Charles Sturt University in Australia through a programme sponsored by the Hong Kong Police Force.
Career
Police officer On 15 August 1977,HK Government Staff List 1985 at the age of 19, Lee joined the Royal Hong Kong Police Force as a probationary inspector. He became a Chief Inspector on 11 May 1984. He became Chief Superintendent in 1997, Assistant Commissioner in 2003, senior assistant commissioner in 2007 and Deputy Commissioner in 2010. Having served in a wide range of operational duties, including the CID, Complaints Against Police, Service Quality, Personnel, Training, Information Systems, Finance, Policies Formulation, Planning and Development, Lee had been the Commander of Kowloon West Region, Assistant Commissioner (Crime) and Director of Crime and Security, and Deputy Commissioner (Management).
As an Assistant Commissioner, he was involved in the investigation of the case of corrupt Police Constable Tsui Po-ko.Tsim Sha Tsui police killings - is this what really happened?Who is John Lee? Former schoolmates, teachers and colleagues give their measure of the man set to be Hong Kong’s next leader
Security Bureau Lee was appointed Under Secretary for Security in 2012 by chief executive Leung Chun-ying and promoted to Secretary for Security in July 2017 in the Carrie Lam administration.
In 2019, Lee played a key role in the push for the 2019 Hong Kong extradition bill.
On 3 July 2020, the Chinese state-run Xinhua News Agency stated that the Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region was formally established. There were 10 members of the committee. As the Secretary for Security of Hong Kong, Lee was a member of the committee.
In October 2020, Lee told Shenzhen Satellite TV in an interview that he was thankful for Beijing pushing through the Hong Kong national security law.
In December 2020, Lee defended the freezing of bank accounts belonging to former Democratic Party legislator Ted Hui, and said that other bank accounts, including those of suspect's relatives, could be frozen if they were believed to be related to a crime.
In January 2021, after the arrest of 53 pro-democracy figures, Lee stated to the Legislative Council that they were arrested for "subverting state power". Lee also stated that "The Security Bureau strongly reaffirms and fully supports the Police's operation, which is resolute and professional." In addition, Lee stated that the opposition figures' attempts were "evil" and meant to "overthrow" the government.
On 15 January 2021, Lee said that the new National Security Law would include police surveillance of communications, potentially giving the police more power to intercept and read communications.
In April 2021, Lee said that Hong Kong's disciplined services would adopt PLA-style goose step marching in order to demonstrate "nationalistic sentiments" and to "strengthen awareness of national security". In July 2022, Lee as Chief Executive said that "This time, we've comprehensively adopted the Chinese-style marching, which fully reflects the police's national identity and sense of belonging to the country, and also represents a solemn commitment to the trust bestowed by the nation, and loyalty to the country".
Chief Secretary for Administration On 25 June 2021, the HKSAR Government announced that the State Council has on the recommendation of the Chief Executive appointed Lee as Chief Secretary for Administration, making him the third former police officer after William Caine, the founding head of the Hong Kong Police Force who served as Colonial Secretary from 1846 to 1854, and Francis Henry May, Captain Superintendent of the Police Force from 1893 to 1901 and Colonial Secretary from 1902 to 1911, to have served in the second-highest governmental position in Hong Kong.
In January 2022, after the arrest of employees from Stand News, Lee said that US media groups should support law enforcement, claiming that "If you are genuinely interested in press freedom, you should support actions against people who have unlawfully exploited the media as a tool to pursue their political or personal gains".
On 4 March 2022, Lee invoked emergency regulation to announce the construction of a bridge linking Hong Kong with Shenzhen; however, satellite images showed that construction appeared to have begun five days before Lee had invoked the emergency regulation. The border is drawn at the halfway point in the Shenzhen River, and photos show that a barge was on the Hong Kong side on 27 February 2022. On the day of the emergency regulation was announced, photos show that the bridge was past the halfway point on Hong Kong's side, extending just meters away from Hong Kong land.
On 6 April 2022, Lee resigned and planned to join the 2022 Chief Executive election. His resignation was approved by the State Council of China on the following day.
Chief Executive (2022–present)
2022 Chief Executive election bid
On 6 April 2022, Lee resigned and planned to join the 2022 Chief Executive election. His resignation was approved by the State Council of China on the following day. He formally announced his candidacy on 9 April 2022. Lee was the sole candidate who had the blessing of the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping's administration in the 2022 Hong Kong Chief Executive election, which was communicated by the Liaison Office. The Office reportedly told the Election Committee that Lee would be the only candidate given permission by Beijing to be Chief Executive. His selection was seen as a move by the Chinese government to focus further on security and further integrate Hong Kong with mainland China.
Lee's campaign manager, Tam Yiu-chung, revealed that Lee would develop a political manifesto by the end of April. Tam later claimed that the political manifesto would not be key for the public to support Lee. Lee dismissed criticism that the Election Committee members were nominating him without seeing his manifesto, claiming that the Election Committee members already knew him and could trust him. Despite having no competitors in the election, Lee said that the election run was "not easy". In October 2023, Lee said "Anyone who takes part in elections knows they must work hard, as nominations are not at your fingertips. They must use all methods available."
FactWire reported that Lee's two sons (Gilbert Lee and Jacky Lee) have business relationships with Election Committee members, but Lee said there was no conflict of interest. In the report, FactWire said that Gilbert Lee's direct manager is Diana Ferreira Cesar, who sits on the finance subsector of the Election Committee. Additionally, Jacky Lee is a business partner of Li Sing-tui, an ex-officio member of the Election Committee. Lee violated the Election Ordinance by submitting late paperwork, but was exempted from penalty in August 2022. For Lee's election forum, seven media stations will cohost the broadcast, with one politician criticizing plans for it, stating that questions are restricted, with no audience member interaction, and the forum being pre-recorded rather than live.
Appointment Lee was the sole approved candidate, and of 1,461 Election Committee voters, 8 rejected him, 4 cast blank ballots, and 33 did not vote. He was formally appointed by premier Li Keqiang on 30 May 2022 and the cabinet he nominated was approved by the State Council of China on 19 June. He was officially sworn in on 1 July 2022 in the presence of General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping, becoming the third Hong Kong leader with a police background, the others being William Caine and Sir Francis Henry May, who served as acting Governor and Governor of Hong Kong, respectively.
Lee is the third Catholic Chief Executive of Hong Kong after Donald Tsang and his immediate predecessor Carrie Lam. After Tsang, he is the second Chief Executive whose parents came from mainland China.
Domestic policy Since John Lee became chief executive, Hong Kong government officials including Lee himself have shown public displays of loyalty towards Xi, similar to the mainland but previously unheard in the city.
Housing In June 2022, the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, the Beijing government's office that manages policy around Hong Kong, specifically said that it hoped Lee would tackle the deep-rooted issue of housing in Hong Kong, with more explicit targets, more courage, and more action. On 1 July 2022, Chinese leader Xi Jinping also called on affordable housing to be a priority for Lee's government. On 3 July 2022, Lee said that if the housing supply did not meet targets, both civil servants and government leaders would be responsible. On 19 October 2022, he announced several measures to combat the housing prices, including building 72,000 private residential units over the next five years. Lee has said that he respected the plan to build public housing on parts of the Hong Kong Golf Club's site in Fanling. In October 2023, Lee cut some anti-speculation stamp duties on purchases of housing.
National education In July 2022, Lee said that the government would spare no effort to enhance patriotic education, and said that the sense of young people of the nation and national identity would need to be fostered from an early age. In August 2022, Lee said that schools must teach students to respect and safeguard national security. In September 2022, Lee said that teachers would be required to "be cautious" about their conduct, set a "sense of national identity" with students, and also emphasized that "Newly appointed teachers in all public sector schools will be required to pass the Basic Law Test."