Hong Kong's No. 2 official, John Lee, said on Wednesday he had resigned to run in a leadership election in May, two days after Chief Executive Carrie Lam said she will not seek a second five-year term.
Lee said he was awaiting Beijing's approval for him to stand in the leadership election.
Lee, 64, a former deputy commissioner of police, was promoted to the global financial hub's No. 2 role in 2021 in a move that some political analysts said signalled Beijing's priorities for Hong Kong were related to security rather than the economy or finance.
(Reporting By Clare Jim, Twinnie Siu, Greg Torode and Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
