This could explain why we have not seen real vision in our leaders. Take an honest look at Hong Kong today. What is there to feel happy about? We are rapidly losing our edge in almost every sector.

We look for quick fixes to the problems we face, such as asking for favours. But more favours from the motherland will do more harm than good if we become reliant on them.

Chanting slogans like 'Asia's world city', or that we are the hub of this and the hub of that, will not help. We cannot make Hong Kong more competitive without first making the people of Hong Kong more competitive in the context of a global economy.

This boils down to having real vision in many areas. First and foremost, we need an education policy that goes far beyond language proficiency. We must find the best way to educate our young people, so that they can become competitive individuals in a global context. Finding such a policy is not a job for someone who only cares about his spiritual advancement.

We need a leader with vision, ambition and resolve, someone who is obsessed with finding real solutions to real problems.

He must have the courage both to admit mistakes and stand firm even if it entails saying no to Beijing.

Such a person would also see his popularity rating as an important indicator and would not regard it, as Mr Tsang does, 'like passing clouds'.

J. Y. K. Cheng, Quarry Bay