HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong Secretary of Security John Lee and police chief Chris Tang will take on new roles as part of a government reshuffle, China’s state news agency Xinhua said on Friday.
Lee will replace Matthew Cheung as Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam’s deputy, while Tang will replace Lee, Xinhua said.
Earlier, media reported that Tang would be replaced by one of his deputies, Raymond Siu.
Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam is due to hold a news conference before noon.
Beijing’s imposition of a sweeping national security law in Hong Kong in June 2020 was China’s first major step to set the global financial hub onto an authoritarian path, impacting most aspects of life in the city.
Lee, Tang and Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng have been key players in Beijing’s push to reassert its control over the former British colony.
Lam and about 60 senior public figures are set to travel to Beijing on Monday for the Communist Party’s centenary celebrations, the first time the chief executive will be out of town for the official anniversary of Hong Kong’s 1997 handover, the South China Morning Post said.
(Reporting by Twinnie Siu and Marius Zaharia; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
