The Executive

The election of John Lee as the sixth Chief Executive (CE) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) in 2022 marks the first time Hong Kong has a CE coming from a local disciplinary force. On top of the deep-seated socioeconomic problems - such as rocketing property price, wealth polarization, low social mobility, and so on - the new CE also faces the challenge of a politically polarized society and the brain drain issue, which are the result of the political antagonism left behind by the controversy over the Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2019 since March 2019. Successive CEs have tried very hard to address these problems but have had limited success. From the governing point of view, this may have its roots in the governing system in general and the institutional design for selecting the CE and forming the executive in particular. This chapter therefore first examines the establishment and functions of the executive of the Hong Kong government, and then the way the CE and the executive operate and interact with the Legislative Council (LegCo) in terms of general policymaking and budgetary decision-making processes. Lastly, various challenges faced by the executive are considered.