Policy Address

4.         With the retreat of the economic shadow, livelihood issues are now the community's principal concerns, with housing, the wealth gap and elderly welfare drawing the greatest attention.  The Government has long been making efforts to deal with these issues.  Our work includes consultation on the Government's role in helping members of the public purchase a home, increasing land supply, and protecting consumer interests through various measures such as enhancing the transparency of the private property market.  For low-income families, we have completed a review of the Transport Support Scheme.  In regard to welfare services for the elderly, we will adopt a new mindset to tackle the challenges to our healthcare and welfare systems posed by an ageing population.  This Policy Address outlines the results achieved in these areas and proposes initiatives for the next stage of work.

5.         Social tension has already divided our community to a certain degree.  When running for Chief Executive in 2007, I stressed the need to properly handle various relationships in the Special Administrative Region (SAR), including the relationships between the rich and the poor and between large corporations and ordinary people.

6.         Over the past century or so, Hong Kong has evolved from a fishing village into a migrant city, an entrepot, a world factory and, today, an international financial centre.  With a deep-water port as our only natural advantage, our success has been founded on the perseverance and enterprising spirit of our people.  The Government's role has been to create a favourable business environment through various policies to enable enterprises to flexibly cope with external economic challenges.  Step by step, we have come a long way.

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