HK's Joshua Wong among 'world's greatest leaders': Fortune
[HONG KONG] Joshua Wong, the teenage face of Hong Kong's mass pro-democracy movement, once again challenged Chinese President Xi Jinping when he was named one of the world's 10 greatest leaders by Fortune magazine - just a few spots behind the communist leader.
Mr Wong, who spearheaded mass street blockades which brought parts of the Asian financial centre to a standstill last year, sparked by restrictions from Beijing on how Hong Kong's next leader will be chosen, was 10th in Fortune's second annual "World's Greatest Leaders" list.
Mr Xi, by contrast, was ranked third.
"His nonviolent protest message and energetic idealism galvanised crowds that, over months, numbered in the hundreds of thousands," the American magazine said of Mr Wong.
It described the 18-year-old as "slight, and with a bowl cut", someone who "doesn't look like Hollywood's idea of a charismatic rebel leader".
The magazine also said that the city's Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying stood in stark contrast to the likes of Mr Wong.
"He's the leader - except that last fall well over 100,000 Hong Kongers chose dramatically not to follow him," the magazine said.
"When they learned that the 2017 election for Mr Leung's position would not be free and democratic, as authorities had previously suggested, they poured into the streets and followed Joshua Wong."
China has promised people in the semi-autonomous city the right to vote for their next leader in 2017, fulfilling a pledge made during the handover from Britain in 1997.
But Chinese authorities ruled in August that nominees must be vetted by a pro-Beijing committee - a proposal activists have rejected as fake democracy.
Of Mr Xi, meanwhile, the magazine said, "There hasn't been a stronger leader in China since the reformer Deng Xiaoping - or maybe the revolutionary Mao Zedong".
US electronics maker Apple's CEO Tim Cook topped the list, followed by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, while Pope Francis came in fourth.
AFP
KEYWORDS IN THIS ARTICLE
BT is now on Telegram!
For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes
Lifestyle
Former Zouk morphs into mod-Asian Jiak Kim House, serving laksa pasta and mushroom bak kut teh
Massimo Bottura lends star power to pizza and pasta at Torno Subito
Victor Liong pairs Aussie and Asian food with mixed results at Artyzen’s Quenino restaurant
If Jay Chou likes Ju Xing’s zi char, you might too
Mod-Sin cooking izakaya style at Focal
What the fish? Diving for flavour at Fysh – Aussie chef Josh Niland’s Singapore debut