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Hong Kong set to pick new leader anointed by Beijing

FILE - In this Tuesday, March 14, 2017 file photo, Hong Kong chief executive candidates, from left, former financial secretary John Tsang, former chief secretary Carrie Lam, and former judge Woo Kwok-hing, hold hands together during a photo call before a chief executive election debate in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is poised to select a new leader on March 26, but the choice will be made by a committee of mostly pro-Beijing elites rather than voters from among the city’s 7.3 million residents, under a system that was strongly criticized during 2014’s huge pro-democracy protests. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)
FILE - In this Tuesday, March 14, 2017 file photo, Hong Kong chief executive candidates, from left, former financial secretary John Tsang, former chief secretary Carrie Lam, and former judge Woo Kwok-hing, hold hands together during a photo call before a chief executive election debate in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is poised to select a new leader on March 26, but the choice will be made by a committee of mostly pro-Beijing elites rather than voters from among the city’s 7.3 million residents, under a system that was strongly criticized during 2014’s huge pro-democracy protests. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File) FILE - In this Tuesday, March 14, 2017 file photo, Hong Kong chief executive candidates, from left, former financial secretary John Tsang, former chief secretary Carrie Lam, and former judge Woo Kwok-hing, hold hands together during a photo call before a chief executive election debate in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is poised to select a new leader on March 26, but the choice will be made by a committee of mostly pro-Beijing elites rather than voters from among the city’s 7.3 million residents, under a system that was strongly criticized during 2014’s huge pro-democracy protests. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)

By Associated Press 5 min read

HONG KONG (AP) – The three candidates vying to be Hong Kong’s next leader squared off in a feisty debate in front of hundreds of voters who peppered them with questions.

They wrangled over policy proposals for the semiautonomous Chinese city and took jabs at each other at Sunday night’s forum. In one particularly testy exchange, frontrunner Carrie Lam, a former chief secretary, sniped at rival John Tsang for keeping a clean desk during his time as the city’s finance chief, implying that he hadn’t kept himself busy enough.

“No files, no papers, so I really envied him,” Lam said, adding that her desk was always covered in documents.

Tsang shot back that “besides working hard, we have to work smart,” drawing cheers from the audience.

With the vote for Hong Kong’s next chief executive set for Sunday March 26, the forum was one of the last big chances for the contenders to drum up support from among the 1,194 members of an election committee who take their cues from Beijing. Voters from among Hong Kong’s 7.3 million residents have no say in choosing the chief executive.