Hong Kong Selects Beijing-Backed Woman As Chief Executive

Hong Kong’s Chief Executive elect Carrie Lam speaks after meeting with current chief executive Leung Chun-ying at government headquarter in Hong Kong, Monday, March 27, 2017. The candidate favored by China’s Communist leadership was chosen as Hong Kong’s new leader on Sunday, in the first such vote since huge pro-democracy protests erupted over the semiautonomous Chinese city’s election system in 2014.
Hong Kong's Chief Executive elect Carrie Lam speaks after meeting with current chief executive Leung Chun-ying at government headquarter in Hong Kong, Monday, March 27, 2017. The candidate favored by China's Communist leadership was chosen as Hong Kong's new leader on Sunday, in the first such vote since huge pro-democracy protests erupted over the semiautonomous Chinese city's election system in 2014. Vincent Yu / AP Photo
Hong Kong’s Chief Executive elect Carrie Lam speaks after meeting with current chief executive Leung Chun-ying at government headquarter in Hong Kong, Monday, March 27, 2017. The candidate favored by China’s Communist leadership was chosen as Hong Kong’s new leader on Sunday, in the first such vote since huge pro-democracy protests erupted over the semiautonomous Chinese city’s election system in 2014.
Hong Kong's Chief Executive elect Carrie Lam speaks after meeting with current chief executive Leung Chun-ying at government headquarter in Hong Kong, Monday, March 27, 2017. The candidate favored by China's Communist leadership was chosen as Hong Kong's new leader on Sunday, in the first such vote since huge pro-democracy protests erupted over the semiautonomous Chinese city's election system in 2014. Vincent Yu / AP Photo

Hong Kong Selects Beijing-Backed Woman As Chief Executive

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A committee controlled by Chinese government supporters chose Carrie Lam to be Hong Kong’s new leader on Sunday. Lam is the former number two in Hong Kong and was Beijing’s choice for the top job. 

Pro-democracy movements in Hong Kong want Beijing to back down on its requirement for pre-approved candidates, calling for free and transparent elections of its leaders. The Chinese government has used a combination of crackdowns and subtlety in handling ongoing protests. 

We talk about the rising tensions in Hong Kong with Wen Huang, author of The Little Red Guard and A Death in the Lucky Holiday Hotel: Murder, Money and an Epic Power Struggle in China.