Sanctioned Hong Kong Leader John Lee to Miss APEC Meeting, Financial Minister Paul Chan to Attend Instead

"US-sanctioned Hong Kong leader John Lee cited 'scheduling issues' as reason for missing APEC economic conference, amid tensions over his and other officials' roles in crackdown against pro-democracy movement."

Hong Kong leader John Lee will not attend the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation Economic Leaders' Meeting in San Francisco due to 'scheduling issues.' This comes despite reports suggesting he would be barred due to U.S. sanctions.
In Lee's stead, Hong Kong’s financial minister Paul Chan will attend as a representative of Hong Kong at the conference, set to take place from Nov. 15 to 17.
John Lee was sanctioned in 2020 alongside 10 other Hong Kong officials, including previous Chief Executive Carrie Lam, for allegedly undermining the city’s autonomy and the crackdown against the pro-democracy movement following the 2019 anti-government protests.
Despite these developments, the Hong Kong government has stated that the city will continue to participate in APEC matters, striving to contribute to regional economic cooperation and leveraging their status as an international trade and financial center.
These decisions follow a meeting between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and U.S. officials including President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and White House Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, during which both sides agreed to aim for a bilateral meeting of the Chinese and U.S. presidents on the sidelines of the APEC summit.

South China Morning Post