Extra stamp duties to stay: CE
Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said on Sunday the extra stamp duties introduced to rein in the surging property prices are to stay until supply returns to abundance.
He delivered the message while drawing attention to some of his top policy priorities — boost of home supply and improvements of public healthcare — in his second public forum.
Staged at a Kwun Tong secondary school on Sunday afternoon, the forum was attended by 280 members of the public and several district councillors. Leung, sitting on his iconic stool, took notes attentively when questions were raised from the floor.
Housing was the hottest topic. A Leung supporter said “no one else could do better” than the CE on the addition of public housing and curbing market speculation, while others questioned the effectiveness of the inflated stamp duties for homebuyers.
The demand-suppressant measures are not perfect, the city’s chief admitted, but cautioned home prices would have been “10 to 20 percent” higher without them.
He acknowledged the stagnant market’s effect on real estate agencies and related sectors, but said measures will continue until an abundant supply returns, for the sake of financial market health and the fulfillment of housing needs.
A year into his administration, Leung spoke of the community’s great progress in agreeing that the city has to make room for new homes, leaving only questions on location and infrastructure support.
“It can be said that ‘almost nothing can be done without land’,” he said. “I believe all these problems can be solved as long as the SAR government and the people, in particular opinion leaders in the districts, be of one mind.”
He appealed again for support for the North East New Territories development, which was “responsible to the next generation”, as the city needs one new satellite town “similar to Sha Tin” in every 10-year period.
In the presence of Secretary for the Environment Wong Kam-sing, and Secretary for Food and Health Ko Wing-man, many raised concerns over the city’s solid waste treatment and the high demand for public healthcare in the Kwun Tong district.
The proposal to build a new general hospital at Kai Tak, Ko said, will be a top priority when the administration seeks further funding to expand the city’s public healthcare services.
The Tin Shui Wai forum, the first of the three-stop dialogue tour held last week, was distracted by violent clashes outside the venue.
Speaking in Kwun Tong, Leung said the law enforcement should not be used as political tool to fulfill personal political motives. But he added his speeches are made in response to the “prevailing situation in society”.
For instance, Leung underlined the importance he attached to the executive- legislature tie. The Legislative Council (LegCo), he stressed, has passed 107 out of 110 funding proposals submitted by his administration.
Reports of clashes outside the venue at Kwun Tong were few, owing to effective separation of different camps by the heavy police presence. Six were arrested, mostly for assault.
The forum itself was held in good order, except for dozens of opposition activists occasionally shouting out slogans to interrupt speeches. The CE dismissed it as not the behavior of “people who pursue democracy and uphold freedom of speech”.
Despite the hassles, Leung said it was essential to talk directly to the people, as direct contact with the public is useful for policy formation.