YouTube blocks account of Hong Kong's sole leadership candidate (updated)
20/04/2022 11:27
* Campaign channel removed to comply with U.S. sanctions
* Lee sanctioned for what U.S. describes as role in curbing
city's
freedoms
* Beijing-backed Lee sole candidate for Hong Kong's
leadership
(Recasts with John Lee on YouTube removing campaign channel)
By Josh Ye and Clare Jim
HONG KONG, April 20 (Reuters) - YouTube blocked the account
of Hong Kong's sole leadership candidate John Lee on Wednesday
as part of U.S. sanctions against the city's former No. 2
official who said the move will not affect his bid to lead the
financial hub for the next five years.
Alphabet Inc GOOGL.O , which owns YouTube, said on
Wednesday it had taken down Lee's campaign account to comply
with U.S. sanction laws as Hong Kong's former No. 2 official
prepares for a leadership election on May 8.
Separately, Facebook owner Meta Platforms FB.O said that
while Lee can keep "demonetized presences" on Facebook and
Instagram, it had taken steps to prevent use of payments
services. Lee's Facebook page was still visible on Wednesday.
Lee, a former deputy commissioner of police and security
secretary, was sanctioned along with other Hong Kong and Chinese
officials for what Washington described as their role in curbing
city’s freedoms under a sweeping national security law Beijing
imposed on the city in 2020.
Authorities in Hong Kong and China say the legislation was
necessary to restore stability following widespread
anti-government protests in 2019.
"Those so-called sanctions on me are unreasonable, are
bullying, are intentionally pressuring, trying to force me to be
hesitant. But as I’ve repeatedly stressed, this unreasonable
behaviour will only make me convinced that I’m doing the right
thing," Lee said at a media briefing.
"With regards to some (social) media (platforms) which I
will have no access to, I feel disappointed but this will not
affect my election effort."
Lee is seeking to replace Chief Executive Carrie Lam who
will step down on June 30 after governing the city through a
period of unprecedented anti-government protests and COVID-19.
Google told Reuters in an emailed statement: "Google
complies with applicable U.S. sanctions laws and enforces
related policies under its terms of service. After review and
consistent with these policies, we terminated the Johnlee2022
YouTube channel."
POWERFUL BACKERS
Lee is backed by the central government in Beijing and is
expected to announce his policy platform later this month, media
reports said.
Lee has picked nearly 150 heavyweights, including the city's
richest man, Li Ka-shing, and other powerful businessmen and
politicians, to join his advisory team in a bid to show broad
support for his candidacy.
Among Lee's 58-member campaign advisory team are the city's
biggest property tycoons, including CK Asset's 1113.HK Li
Ka-shing, Henderson Land Development's 0012.HK Lee Shau Kee,
Sun Hung Kai Properties' 0016.HK Raymond Kwok and New World
Development's 0017.HK Henry Cheng.
Other advisers include former World Health Organization
director-general Margaret Chan, chairman of electricity company
CLP Holdings 0002.HK Michael Kadoorie and casino magnate Lui
Che-woo.
Apart from the advisory team that serves an honorary role,
there is also a 90-member presidium that Lee is consulting to
draft his platform.
The presidium includes former Hong Kong chief secretary and
a standing committee member of China's top advisory body the
Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Henry Tang,
business magnate Allan Zeman, former director of Public
Prosecutions Grenville Cross, former chief executive of Hong
Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) 0388.HK Charles Li, as well
as movie star Jackie Chan.
Lee has secured 786 nominations from the 1,500 members of
the election committee in charge of selecting Hong Kong's new
leader, higher than the 188 nominations required to run.
A former career police officer, Lee is widely expected to
prioritise security issues if he gets the top job, having
previously urged new legislation to fully implement a sweeping
national security law Beijing imposed on the city in 2020.
Lee said he will be the conductor to "a new symphony" early
this month when he announced his candidacy. He said loyalty to
China's central government was a priority for any chief
executive and part of his platform will include accelerating
plans to resolve a chronic housing shortage. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2W50MK
Since Hong Kong returned from British to Chinese rule in
1997, there have been four chief executives, all of whom have
struggled to balance the democratic aspirations of some
residents with the vision of China's Communist leaders.
All of the city's leaders have been backed by Beijing and
chosen by an "election committee" stacked with Beijing
loyalists.
(Reporting by Josh Ye and Clare Jim; Editing by Anne Marie
Roantree and Vinay Dwivedi)
((clare.jim@thomsonreuters.com;))