'King' Arthur Li tipped as Hong Kong's next chief executive
The Executive Councillor's legend has never faded despite his retreat from the spotlight; now he is up for consideration for the city's top job
Professor Arthur Li Kwok-cheung, the man nicknamed King Arthur for his high-handed manner, is being touted as a potential candidate for the next chief executive election in 2017.
If one of the attributes for the role is being able to handle controversy, then he qualifies with distinction.
His name was put forward by Lam Tai-fai, lawmaker for one of the two industrial functional constituencies, and it marks the second time he's been identified as a contender for the top job.
Li, 69, comes from a distinguished family that has been referred to as Hong Kong's version of the Kennedys, the American political dynasty.
His father was a member of the Executive Council - the government's top decision-making body - as was Arthur Li and his older brother David Li Kwok-po, who is the chairman of the Bank of East Asia.
One of their uncles was the late Simon Li Fook-sean, the top judge who was one of the four candidates vying to be Hong Kong's first chief executive in 1997. One cousin, Andrew Li Kwok-nang, is a former chief justice of Hong Kong; another, Gladys Li, is a prominent barrister and a founding member of the Civic Party.