EMBARGOED UNTIL 7AM ON SUNDAY Chief Executive John Lee says he has nothing else in mind but to complete his mission and accomplish the best results during his tenure. Asked about whether he would seek re-election during a media interview, the SAR leader said "being the Chief Executive is a mission". Lee's current five-year term ends in June 2027. "During this mission, there is only one thought. You execute your tasks to the best of your abilities; always be dedicated, selfless and try to do as much as possible. Treat that as your only mission, think about nothing else and you will achieve the best results and satisfy the mission's requirements," he said. Hong Kong's top official also refused to rate his own performance, only saying he would leave it to others to assess his work. Asked if there had been difficult calls to make over the past two years, Lee said none of the decisions were easy. "I'm pleased to see that so far I get a lot of support from my team, which helps me in making difficult decisions. And I am thankful to a lot of people who are very willing to offer their opinions to me, which also helps me to make difficult decisions," Lee said. "But all decisions are difficult. There's no easy thing for the Chief Executive, when I have to take care of the interests of 7.5 million people." Likewise, Lee felt it was hard to gauge the individual performances of his cabinet officials, given that "each policy has a different starting point". That said, he acknowledged all of them had met his requirements. "I would describe my team as a boat. This boat, firstly, has to move forward. Secondly, it has to move faster and faster. Thirdly, and most importantly, it has to be in the right direction. If it's in the right direction, we will eventually reach our destination. If [the boat] is faster, we'll get there faster," Lee said. "After [reaching] one goal, we move on to the next and handle things one step at a time."
