Hong Kong chief executive election 2022: a look at the family behind leadership hopeful John Lee
- John Lee and his wife Janet Lam have two children, elder son Gilbert is head of strategy and planning and chief of staff to the chief executive of Hang Seng Bank
- Friends and former colleagues share memories of working with Lee, say he is a ‘responsible and respectable’ father and someone who puts his wife first
Hong Kong chief executive hopeful John Lee Ka-chiu has garnered support from many of the city’s big guns for his leadership bid, but those closest to him have so far opted to stay out of the limelight.
The former No 2 official publicly thanked his family for their support on Wednesday, after submitting his nomination forms for the May 8 election.
“I am grateful to my family. They support me in this election,” the 64-year-old said. “I love my family and I don’t think I need to tell them I love them every day.”
The former chief secretary’s family has stayed out of the limelight since he announced his leadership bid last week to run as the only hopeful endorsed by Beijing.
Lee joined the police force in 1977 as an inspector and forfeited an offer to study engineering at the University of Hong Kong, citing “family reasons”.
He married his wife, Janet Lam Lai- sim, in 1980, after their first son was born, according to past news reports. The couple have two sons, Gilbert Lee Man-lung and Lee Man-chun, who attended the same prestigious Wah Yan College, Kowloon as their father.
Lee’s elder son Gilbert attained five distinctions – one more than his father in 1975 – when he sat the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination, the public school-leaving examination at the time, in 1994. Six years later, his younger brother completed Form Five in the same Yau Ma Tei school.