Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said Monday she will not run for a second term as chief executive of the territory in a leadership election slated for May 8.
Lam, who became the first female chief executive of Hong Kong in 2017 after being chosen as a Beijing-favored candidate, revealed her decision in a daily COVID-19 press briefing, citing family affairs.
It has been reported that the No. 2 official in Hong Kong, Chief Secretary for Administration John Lee, will join the race for the city's next leader.
"This is not a question of evaluating my performance or the performance of the SAR government in this term," Lam told journalists, referring to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region that exists under China's "one country, two systems" policy.
"This is a question of my personal wish and aspiration, and my personal wish and aspiration is entirely based on my family consideration," she said, without elaborating.
During her tenure, Lam, 64, became one of the most divisive leaders in the city after proposing a bill to allow extraditions to mainland China, a move that sparked a series of large-scale protests that eventually morphed into the 2019 pro-democracy movement.
Following the mass protests, Beijing imposed a series of measures to crack down on dissent in Hong Kong, including a sweeping national security law that criminalized acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces.
Lam also led the city's fight against the coronavirus pandemic, adopting a stringent "zero-COVID" strategy mirroring that of the mainland.
Lam has said that she will complete her five-year term on June 30, bringing an end to more than 40 years of public service.
She expressed thanks to Beijing and her team for their support.
When asked about Lee's bid, Lam said she could "not comment on any prospective candidates," but said that she had yet to receive any resignation letters from senior officials.
Before being elevated to the No. 2 post in Hong Kong last month, Lee, who was formerly on the police force, served as secretary for security during a crackdown on pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily.
He also directed the security response to large-scale protests during the 2019 anti-government movement.
The nomination period for the chief executive election began on Sunday, with the election to take place on May 8.
Hong Kong's government earlier this month postponed the upcoming election to focus on its battle against surging COVID-19 infections fueled by the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
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