Hong Kong's new leader John Lee received a salary bump that would make him among the world's highest-paid politicians, according to figures provided by his office Wednesday, even as the financial hub's economy undergoes a downturn.

The government announced this week that its economy has tipped into a technical recession, after being battered by the pandemic, mounting interest rates and weakened global trade.

Despite the city's dip in fortunes, the chief executive will still be comfortably compensated, according to figures provided by his office.

The former security chief, who assumed office in July, is paid HK$452,200 ($58,000) a month, and will receive an entertainment allowance of over $10,000 as well, his office told AFP Wednesday.

His salary is a step-up from that of his predecessor Carrie Lam, who used to earn around $54,000 a month.

This means Lee earns more than US President Joe Biden — whose annual salary is $400,000 — and is second only to Singaporean leader Lee Hsien Loong, who nets around $1.6 million a year.

The 64-year-old was chosen for Hong Kong's top job earlier this year after running unopposed, with his campaign receiving around $1.4 million in donations.

Like Lam, he is also subject to sanctions by the United States for his role in China's ongoing crackdown on freedoms in the city.

Lam once revealed she had "piles of cash" at home as she was denied banking services due to the US sanctions.

It is unclear whether Lee receives his salary in cash.

But he has on multiple occasions denounced the American sanctions as "bullying" and said he paid them no attention.

The Chinese city regularly tops the chart as one of the most expensive cities to live in, with world-beating levels of wealth inequality.

Hong Kong trims 'Captain America' protester's national security sentence
Hong Kong (AFP) Aug 3, 2022 –

A protester jailed under Hong Kong's controversial national security law on Wednesday won a slight reduction to his prison term as judges grappled with China-style sentencing rules designed by Beijing.

Ma Chun-man, a former food delivery worker, was the first person to appeal his sentence under Hong Kong's national security law after he was convicted of "inciting secession" and jailed for nearly six years.

He was nicknamed "Captain America 2.0" for carrying a replica of the Marvel superhero's shield at protest rallies, where he called for Hong Kong's independence from China and disparaged the security law, according to prosecutors.

Appeal judges on Wednesday reduced Ma's sentence to five years as his culpability was "relatively low" and the first-instance penalty was "manifestly excessive".

Beijing imposed the national security law on Hong Kong in 2020 to crack down on dissent, following months of huge and sometimes violent democracy protests.

So far, more than 200 people have been arrested under the sweeping law.

Ma's case was considered a legal weathervane because it involved no violent acts and is based entirely on what he has said — similar to a vast majority of upcoming national security trials.

The national security law also imposes minimum jail terms for serious offences, a feature rarely seen in the city's common law tradition.

For those convicted of inciting secession, like Ma, they must be jailed for at least five years if their case was of a "serious nature" — though the law is silent on how seriousness is judged.

Appeal judges said Wednesday Ma's case was classified as serious because some of his protests were held on dates considered sensitive by democracy protesters, which "clearly increased the risk of the activities violently disrupting public order".

These moves challenged Hong Kong's "constitutional order and legal foundation", the judges said.

The court also pointed out that the former delivery driver had chanted slogans urging "armed insurrection", and the lack of actual violence did not make his case any less serious.

Last year, Amnesty International called Ma's jailing "outrageous" and said it represented a "dangerously disproportionate" restriction on free speech in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong authorities have consistently argued that the national security law is necessary to ensure stability in the city, and that rights and freedoms remain intact.