(Bloomberg) — Google’s YouTube terminated the campaign channel of Hong Kong’s sole chief executive candidate John Lee because of U.S. sanctions placed on him.
“Google complies with applicable US sanctions laws and enforces related policies under its Terms of Service. After review and consistent with these policies, we terminated the Johnlee2022 YouTube channel,” a spokesman for the Alphabet Inc. unit said.
YouTube shut down the channel Wednesday, undermining the Beijing-backed candidate’s ability to circulate campaign materials, even though he faces no challenger. Hong Kong’s sole candidate in next month’s chief executive vote already surpassed the threshold of support he needs to win, effectively confirming he’ll become the city’s next leader.
Hong Kong’s John Lee Surpasses Threshold To Win Leadership Race
Lee said last week that he received 786 nominations from the roughly 1,500-member Election Committee that picks the city’s leader. That number is greater than the majority he needs from the committee dominated by Beijing loyalists in the May 8 election.
A former police officer, Lee was a staunch supporter of the China extradition bill that sparked the 2019 protests in Hong Kong and was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2020 for his role in curtailing political freedoms under the national security law.
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