Hong Kong leader John Lee skipped Apec. Did the city win or lose and when will he get US sanctions against him lifted?

With US-sanctioned leader unable to attend, finance chief went in his place, allowing city to show dignity in face of US derision and its keenness to repair ties, experts say

US has little interest in escalating sanctions against Hong Kong, while any easing may only come as part of larger shift in relations, they add

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Published: 12:00pm, 22 Nov 2023Updated: 12:24pm, 22 Nov 2023

Hong Kong leader John Lee Ka-chiu kept a studious silence all of last week before an important Apec summit in San Francisco.

On Tuesday, the dam burst. In a rare moment of candour, he said the United States and Hong Kong could do with a more positive relationship but there was nothing he could do to counter the actions of an “unreasonable bully”.

Lee admitted that US sanctions levied against him after Beijing imposed the national security law on Hong Kong in 2020 had impeded his ability to promote the city internationally.

It was a subtle but significant departure from the previous line that Lee took even while condemning the US for the ban he received for his role in the national security law.

In the past, Lee would shrug off the sanctions, berate the US and then declare confidently that Hong Kong would seek business elsewhere, whether it was the regional grouping Asean, the Middle East or other belt and road countries. “The world is a very big place,” Lee said several times before.

Could recent candid remarks on Hong Kong-US ties from city leader John Lee be a subtle call for a recalibration of ties? Photo: Sun Yeung

Lee’s candour, however, might not have been spontaneous but carefully choreographed to signal to the US that ties remained vital and ought to be recalibrated now that the Apec summit was over.