Exclusive | US sanctions risk pushed campaign team for Hong Kong’s John Lee to limit options for receiving election donations
- Source in Lee’s campaign team says decision was made before YouTube terminated candidate’s channel to comply with US sanction laws
- Association for delegates of China’s top advisory body among locally registered organisations to donate to Lee’s campaign
The campaign team of Hong Kong’s incoming leader John Lee Ka-chiu only accepted election donations from locally registered organisations and business chambers to avoid the risk of companies and individuals being sanctioned by the United States, the Post has learned.
The HKCPPCC (Provincial) Members Association was one of several pro-establishment groups which contributed funds to the former policeman’s campaign, donating HK$300,000 (US$38,217) in cash.
A source close to Lee’s campaign office told the Post they had decided to accept election donations from organisations and business chambers registered in Hong Kong because of “objective factors”.
“We made the decision before YouTube terminated Lee’s campaign on the grounds of compliance with United States sanction laws,” the source said.
A separate source familiar with the matter said the decision by Google to terminate the YouTube channel on April 20 had left political and business heavyweights worried about possible legal consequences if they contributed to the campaign of an individual sanctioned by the US.
Lee was among 11 Beijing and Hong Kong officials sanctioned by Washington in August 2020 over what it decried as their role to “undermine the city’s autonomy as well as restrict the freedom of expression or assembly of residents” after the imposition of the national security law on June 30 that year.
