A hardline former security minister, John Lee, has been confirmed as the next chief executive of Hong Kong. On Sunday, a pro-Beijing election committee of around 1,500 members voted on the successor to outgoing chief executive Carrie Lam. Lee was the only candidate to stand. He received the votes of 1,416 of a total of 1,424 delegates. The 64-year-old is considered a political hardliner and is notorious for his absolute loyalty to the Chinese central government. He is controversial in Hong Kong for his active role in the crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations in 2019. In the summer of 2020,…