Chief executive's policies will speak louder than his words

July 1 was a memorable day for me. In the morning, I was sworn in as a non-official member of the Executive Council in a grand and solemn ceremony with President Hu Jintao in attendance. In the afternoon, I watched the annual march on its route from Victoria Park towards Central.

Naturally, both events received plenty of media coverage. However, the TV reports of the march focused extensively on a moment when a few demonstrators clashed with police. Unless you saw the procession yourself, you would not see its scale, or the many different messages it was sending out.

The number of people was huge. I was watching for two hours, and there was no end to the crowds walking past in Admiralty. There were all sorts of people: young, old, families, Chinese, non-Chinese. There were people calling for labour rights, universal suffrage, pensions and much more. Some demanded human rights in China and a reappraisal of June 4, 1989. A lot wanted Leung Chun-ying to stand down - just hours after he had been sworn in as chief executive.

It was a very hot day. These were all, clearly, people who care deeply about this city and the country. Apart from a few exceptions highlighted on TV, they were clearly non-violent. Although their demands were quite varied, many of them were linked in some way to a desire for greater social justice.

I expect to be discussing many of these social and economic concerns at Exco meetings in the months and years ahead. Do I believe that, in five years' time, we will have made real progress in these areas?

I would not have agreed to join Exco if I did not believe we can give a better deal to people living in disgraceful housing conditions, to the elderly poor, to unskilled workers, to struggling families and to other members of the community who are deprived through no fault of their own. I certainly hope we will do it. If we do not, the people of Hong Kong will have every right to tell us to stand down.