Hong Kong’s second-highest official, Li Jiaqiang Join the race to succeed Carrie Lam As the leader of Chinese territory, it shows Beijing’s growing focus on security after pro-democracy protests rocked the city in 2019.

Former security minister Li, 64, resigned as the top civil servant on Wednesday, according to people familiar with the matter, believed to have Beijing’s backing.

The former police officer will become the first chief executive with a security background since Hong Kong was handed over from Britain to China in 1997 and played a major role in cracking down on the opposition after Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law in 2020.

Nearly 200 activists were arrested and several independent media outlets were shut down, including Apple Daily, the best-selling democratic tabloid. More than 10,000 people have been arrested since the 2019 protests.

What is your reaction to Lee Kuan Yew’s participation in the Hong Kong chief executive election?share your thoughts with me [email protected]. Thank you for reading FirstFT Asia. — Emily

Latest news on Ukraine war:

• evacuation: Ukrainian authorities have urged civilians in the Donbas region and around Kharkov evacuate After the Russian army intensified its offensive in eastern Ukraine.

• Sanctions: The United States has implemented the toughest sanctions About Russia’s largest financial institution and largest private bank.Italy and Spain lead the new round European deportation Diplomats in Moscow.

• vitality: Russian coal producers may struggle Shift sales to Asian markets Analysts say if the EU goes ahead with a threatening blanket import ban.

• debt: Russia moved One step closer to potential default The country went into liquidation of its foreign currency debt after the country’s finance ministry said it was forced to make payments in rubles to holders of its dollar-denominated bonds.

• intelligence: decrypt information quickly has become a prominent feature of the espionage community’s response to the Ukrainian invasion.

• View: Whatever the outcome of Vladimir Putin’s war, Geopolitics is now divided Between the West and Central-Russian Eurasia, writes Edward Luce.

Follow us live blog Get the latest news about conflicts and us Update the map regularly The Russian invasion of Ukraine is being tracked.

Five more stories in the news

1. Scoop: Meta targets virtual currency market with ‘Zuck Bucks’ Meta has plans to launch Virtual Coins, Tokens and Lending Services Despite the failed project to launch the cryptocurrency, Facebook’s parent company is still pursuing its financial ambitions.

2. The Fed cuts its balance sheet by $95 billion a month U.S. central bank will start $95 billion in assets divested every month As it ramps up efforts to rein in soaring U.S. inflation, there has been relief from its massive $9 trillion balance sheet. Officials are finalizing a plan to reduce the central bank’s presence in the U.S. government bond market, minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee’s last meeting showed.

3. Toshiba’s second-largest shareholder pushes for a privatization deal 3D Investment Partners is pushing the company to make possible sold to private equity News emerged last week that Bain Capital is preparing to submit a bid for the $17 billion Japanese conglomerate.

4. Sri Lanka revokes state of emergency rules President Gotabaya Rajapaksa end emergency rule The bill was implemented days later as the government struggled to contain the economic and political crisis that led to widespread protests.

5. French bonds, bank shares rattled by surge in Le Pen polls The Risk of Marine Le Pen Winning become the focus Yesterday, opinion polls ahead of Sunday’s first round of voting showed the far-right candidate making progress on President Emmanuel Macron. Bank stocks fell and bond spreads between French and German government debt widened.

coronavirus digest

the day ahead

world health day The World Health Organization will publish its annual World Health Report.

G7 foreign ministers meeting continues Officials will continue proceedings in Brussels, where British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is expected Call for tougher unified action And continue to impose sanctions on Russia.

what are we still reading

weaponization of finance Part 1 of a two-part series on a new era of financial warfare examines how the West Unleash “shock and awe” On the Russian economy, and how sanctions on the country’s central bank use the ubiquitous dollar to punish Washington’s adversaries.

Hong Kong targets board ‘boys club’ Xiaomi and Meituan may be the world leaders when it comes to smartphones or online shopping, but China’s top companies lag behind in the global movement Shake up the all-male conference roomNow, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange will require its more than 2,500 listed companies to have at least one female board member by 2024.

• Related Reading: in our first edition The new weekly newsletter works itSophia Smith of the Financial Times looks at the secrets and thriving world of alumni networks.

Expats fleeing Hong Kong face growing discontent in Singapore As Singapore eases its epidemic prevention measures, it has become an obvious destination for many Hong Kongers.But the city-state Open reputation is being damaged Locals want to limit immigration.

A new kind of media mogul bursts into Twitter Elon Musk’s investment in the social media platform and subsequent appointment to the company’s board of directors has given Tesla’s chief executive a unique status and influence typically associated with a traditional media mogul.Tech reporters Hannah Murphy and Richard Waters Talk to an expert About this week’s unexpected development.

Carbon removal ‘inevitable’ as climate change alarm bells ring Once a fringe idea, carbon capture and storage has become a key part of global decarbonization plans. But does the technology risk giving big polluters a business-as-usual license? The Financial Times weighed the pros and cons.

healthy

From 3D-printed saddles to Tour de France-tested wheels, enhance your riding experience with bike tricks worth investing in, concludes Fergus Scholes 14 of the Best Bike Upgrades.