Carrie Lam: Hong Kong's Divisive Leader Now Sanctioned By US

Hong Kong, Aug 8 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 8th Aug, 2020 ) :Carrie Lam vowed to heal divisions when she became Hong Kong's leader, but her tenure has been marred by massive democracy protests and a crackdown by Beijing that prompted the United States to sanction her.

The 63-year-old devout Catholic took over in March 2017, becoming the first woman elevated to the city's top job.

But she was not popularly elected. Hong Kong's leaders are instead chosen by a 1,200-strong committee stacked with Beijing loyalists, and Lam secured 777 votes.

She vowed to be more responsive to the city's youngsters, who have been at the forefront of a campaign for greater democratic freedoms and measures to combat rising inequality.

"My priority will be to heal the divide," she said, adding that she would resign if she lost popularity.

Fast forward three years and Hong Kong is more divided than at any time in living memory after months of huge and often violent democracy protests last year.

Now Lam finds herself on a US sanctions list alongside 10 other local and Chinese officials after Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law on the semi-autonomous city.

The Treasury Department accused her of being "directly responsible for implementing Beijing's policies of suppression".