Despite Carrie Lam’s unpopularity among many Hong Kongers, Beijing had made it clear that she was their preferred candidate, reportedly because she would loyally enact their will. (In February, the South China Morning Postreported that Zhang Dejiang, the senior Chinese official who leads the country's legislature, was touting Lam as Beijing's top pick.) Her primary opponent, former Financial Secretary John Tsang, earned only 365 votes, after running a campaign that earned an unprecedented degree of public support. Read more
