John Lee after taking oath as Hong Kong's chief executive last week. (Reuters Photo)
Hong Kong's new chief executive, John Lee, spent $1.1 million from the donations he received during his election campaign earlier this year, according to a report in The Guardian. It has based on the official filings released on Monday. Mr Lee had contested for the city's top job in May and was the sole candidate.
Of the $1.1 million expenditure, Mr Lee spent the majority of amount advertisements, gatherings, office rent and transportation. He had received a total $1.4 million in donations during the election campaign, the report further said.
The unused fund was donated to a local charity.
Mr Lee was sworn in last week as the sixth-term chief executive of Hong Kong, in the presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping. The move was meant to signal that Beijing has the former British colony well under its control 25 years after taking over.
In his inauguration speech, Lee expressed gratitude to the central government and the Hong Kong residents for their trust. "I will lead my team to strive to build a more caring and inclusive Hong Kong filled with vibrancy, hope and development opportunities."
He also pledged to safeguard the constitutional order of the city as defined under the Constitution and the Hong Kong Basic Law, to safeguard the country's sovereignty, national security and development interests, and to ensure the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong.
Mr Lee was a former beat cop who became Hong Kong's security chief and played a key role in suppressing democracy protests.
A Catholic, Mr Lee grew up poor in Sham Shui Po - one of wealthy Hong Kong's working-class districts.