outside the hong kong convention and exhibition center, where in the last few hours john lee was selected by a small circle group of election city patriots to become the next top leader of hong kong. john lee represents security and stability, law and order. he was a career police officer and the former security chief of hong kong. in fact, he oversaw security during the very destabilizing 2019 pro-democracy protests, as well as during the implementation and enforcement of the very controversial national security law imposed by beijing upon hong kong in the following years. but arguably, his greatest challenges right now are all economic issues. hong kong needs to restore its international reputation as a world-class aviation hub, logistics hub, business and finance hub. it needs to restore business confidence. affordability of housing is a pressing issue.