The State Council has removed Lee from office today after he tendered his resignation on Wednesday and announced his intention to run in the upcoming chief executive election.

Speaking on a daily press briefing this morning, Lam said the nominated replacement for Lee has been submitted to the Central People’s Government for consideration, along with Lee’s resignation the same day.

However, she said she had yet to receive any notification on the matter from the central government.

She added that the government will operate normally despite the temporary vacancy.

“The chief secretary is responsible for coordinating different government bureaus in our anti-epidemic work.

“The temporary vacancy will have a certain impact, but you can rest assured that the work will be done by other officials, especially as I myself worked as chief secretary for more than four years previously. So, it won’t cause big problems to the government’s work,” said Lam.

When asked to comment on Lee’s performance as Chief Secretary, Lam stressed it would be inappropriate for her, as incumbent Chief Executive, to comment on CE hopefuls.

She said the same goes for government officials, especially since the election is now underway.