Tackling housing ‘first step’ to end impasse
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor refuted claims on Thursday that her third Policy Address is aimed at diverting public attention from the current political impasse, saying that it’s actually the first step toward lifting the city out of the deadlock.
She made the remarks during her first livestreaming session on social media Facebook following her annual address on Wednesday. The hour-long live feed saw more than 7,000 netizens join at its peak, recording over 180,000 views as of 10:15 pm.
Fielding questions from viewers, Lam said the problems Hong Kong currently faces are extremely complicated, and the government’s attempt to tackle housing and land issues is the first step in helping the city find a way out of the current dilemma.
Increasingly unaffordable housing has been cited as one of the major issues that triggered the four-month-old anti-government protests. The latest Policy Address unveiled a package of measures to tackle the severe housing and land shortage, which Lam has made it her top priority in the coming year.
Lam said she realized that, as well as livelihood issues, Hong Kong faces many political issues, and her plan to address them is to better communicate with the public.
She said she’s ready and “more than willing” to lead Hong Kong out of the impasse created by the ongoing protests.
“Now that we’re in the storm, as a responsible government official, I and my administration should be more proactive in demonstrating our commitments to (serve Hong Kong), and making the greatest efforts to lift the city out of the current predicament,” Lam said.
She admitted it would take some time to restore peace and order to the city. She urged Hong Kong people to be patient, support and adhere to “one country, two systems” and the rule of law, and reject all forms of violence.
The chief executive pledged that dialogues in various forms with the public will continue, including live Facebook sessions, open dialogues and closed-door meetings.
Lam proposed holding open dialogues with the public in a televised speech on Sept 4 to mitigate social tensions. The first community dialogue was held last month, where she talked to people from all walks of life across the political spectrum.
As a responsible government official, I and my administration should be more proactive in demonstrating our commitments to (serve Hong Kong)...” Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, chief executive of the HKSAR