Leung Chun-ying won the election to become chief executive of Hong Kong with 689 votes, one ten-thousandth of the 6.89m garnered by Ma Ying-jeou in the recent Taiwanese presidential election. Unlike in democratic Taiwan, an election committee of just 1,200 “elite” personages determines who runs Hong Kong, a global financial centre and a special administrative region of China since 1997.

Despite this elite backing, Mr Leung may be under more pressure than if he had won in a democratic election. Hong Kong can be a hothouse of media scrutiny as the scandal-tainted election for chief executive demonstrated. Beijing’s presumed favourite, Henry Tang, a civil servant close to the tycoons who dominate the territory’s economic and political life, was felled by a series of press scandals. That obliged Beijing to switch sides at the 11th hour.

Mr Leung, better known as CY, has a few ghosts of his own to slay. He has been accused of being a closet member of the Communist party – something he has always denied – and of favouring the use of teargas on demonstrators. It was unfortunate and a little ironic that his victory was marred by police firing pepper gas on protesters.