Photo of John Lee, sixth-term chief executive of the HKSAR, and his wife, posted on Lee's newly opened social media pages.

On Friday, hours before swearing in to become chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), John Lee Ka-chiu opened social media accounts, including Sina Weibo and Facebook, to have more interactions and communication with the public. 

"The sunrise is full of energy and life. It's the fresh start of the day! This morning, I will embark on a new mission. I also want to take this opportunity to try something new and open a new page on social media. By sharing daily work and life, I hope to strengthen interaction with citizens. Let's jointly write a new chapter for Hong Kong!" he posted.

The post was published on Sina Weibo, Facebook and Instagram with the hashtag #StartingANewChapterForHongKongTogether - a slogan that Lee used in his election campaign to outline the future policies to strengthen the city's solidarity and competitiveness. 

Soon after the first post, Lee posted a second one, with a photo of him together with his wife Janet, expressing thanks to her for her support and caring of the family. 

"The celebration of the 25th anniversary of the city's return to the motherland and the inaugural ceremony of the sixth-term government of the HKSAR will soon begin … Thanks for Janet's support and I can take my new mission with all my heart … I need your support even more in the next five years so that I can put my whole heart in striving for the happiness of every family in Hong Kong," read Lee's post. 

Lee's debut on Sina Weibo has been hailed by netizens, and by afternoon, more than 230,000 people followed him with more than 160,000 netizens liking his first post and more than 220,000 liking the second post. Many warmly welcomed Lee and expressed their hope for the new chief executive of HKSAR to strive for a more stable Hong Kong. 

Lee and other officials of the sixth-term government of the HKSAR were sworn in by President Xi Jinping at the inaugural ceremony on Friday morning.

Soon after the inaugural ceremony, Lee made the third post with a photo of him reciting his oath in front of President Xi. Lee wrote that "The solemn oath represents my promise to the country, to the HKSAR and to everyone in the city."

Lee said he is honored to have President Xi come to the HKSAR to attend the Friday ceremony and oversee the oath-taking of the sixth-term HKSAR government, noting he also felt the responsibility.

"Me and my team understand that there are opportunities and more challenges ahead of us. But even though the road ahead is thorny, we will try our best to fully implement the principles of 'one country, two systems' firmly in accordance with the Basic Law, 'Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong' and a high degree of autonomy principles to begin a new chapter with people in Hong Kong … and to make contributions to the long-term prosperity of the city and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation," Lee wrote. 

The HKSAR government also updated a message to welcome Lee on its website on Friday, in which Lee wrote that "At this important juncture when Hong Kong embarks on the new journey from stability to prosperity while celebrating the 25th anniversary of its return to the Motherland, I am deeply honored to be elected and appointed by the Central People's Government as the sixth-term Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and am fully aware of the great responsibility this position places on me.''

He vowed to spare no effort to lead the sixth-term HKSAR government to comprehensively and accurately implement the principle of "one country, two systems," "Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong," and a high degree of autonomy strictly in accordance with the Basic Law.

"During my tenure as Chief Executive, I will make best use of the opportune time in the next five years to promote Hong Kong's development from stability to greater prosperity," wrote Lee. 

Global Times