Acting Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee (C) stands with officials during a flag-raising ceremony to mark the 24th anniversary of Hong Kong's handover
(Picture: AFP via Getty Images)YouTube has taken down the channel of Hong Kong’s only candidate to become its next leader citing US sanctions on him.
John Lee stands unopposed for the election for chief executive on May 8, in which an Election Committee of about 1,500 people will select the city’s leader.
Yet he still created a YouTube channel to promote his campaign before it was taken down on Wednesday.
Lee was targeted by the US for sanctions in his former role of security chief for “coercing, arresting, detaining, or imprisoning” pro-democracy protesters in 2020 and for his role in imposing Beijing’s draconian national security law.
Google, YouTube’s parent company, said in a statement that it “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,” it said.
Meanwhile, Lee’s Facebook is still running as of Wednesday.
A spokesperson for Facebook, now called Meta, said Lee will be allowed to “maintain a demonetized presence on Facebook and Instagram, and we have taken steps to prevent the use of payments services.” His Facebook page remained accessible Wednesday evening.
Local media reported that Tam Yiu-chung, Lee’s campaign director and the city’s sole delegate to China’s top legislative body, said YouTube’s decision was “completely unreasonable.”
The city’s second highest-ranked leader Lee entered the race to succeed Carrie Lam after she announced she will not be seeking a second term.
Lee was the city’s head of security during the 2019 protests, and is known for his support for the police force during the protests and his tough stance against protesters.
The election for the chief executive had been set on March 27 but was postponed until May 8 as the city endures its worst coronavirus outbreak of the pandemic.
Ms Lam endured a controversial five years marked by huge protests calling for her resignation, a security crackdown that has quashed dissent and a Covid-19 wave that overwhelmed the health system.
Speculation had swirled for months about whether she would seek another term, but she said that her decision had been conveyed to the central government in Beijing last year and was met with “respect and understanding”.
