Hong Kong is counting on a former cop to address its growing list of headaches. Just don’t expect the new leader to solve the housing crisis — even though Beijing has blamed the problem on social unrest, analysts say.
Incoming Chief Executive John Lee is facing a challenge that his predecessors — experienced civil servants and business mavens — failed to resolve. As the former security secretary who led the crackdown on the 2019 protests, Lee’s lack of exposure to the business community and his own priority on securing stability mean the world’s most unaffordable housing market isn’t likely to get cheaper any time soon.
"All chief executives pledged to solve housing and livelihood issues when they came in. In the end, the problem of inequality and unaffordable housing continued to worsen,” said Ho-fung Hung, a political economy professor at Johns Hopkins University. "It is not sure whether he has the caliber and expertise to deal with those problems more effectively than his predecessors.”
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