Forget the philosophy, let's have answers

A week and a half ago, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying delivered a 45-minute monologue in the Legislative Council, outlining his governing philosophy. Lawmakers were given no time for questions but Leung did later share his thoughts over sandwiches with editors at the Tamar headquarters in Admiralty.

And lawmakers are expected to get their turn at a full question session on Thursday.

While Leung, in his speech, wanted to lay the groundwork for his key leadership ideas, many in the community are impatient for more concrete answers to lingering controversies - quite a number of which were caused by the government and Leung's own supporters.

A good example is the Kai Tak development project. "Government sources" told the media weeks ago that it was considering dropping a proposed sports stadium at the site and relocating it to Lantau to free up more inner-city land for housing. This caused an uproar in the sports sector, including upsetting legislator Ma Fung-kwok - a once diehard Leung fan who represents the sports constituency.

The most vocal advocate of the proposal was Leung's housing policy adviser, Michael Choi Ngai-min. Housing minister Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung said only that the government was reviewing the project and had made no decision. This led to a heated debate in the community over whether sport should make way for housing needs.

Other issues demanded answers, including national education and the old-age allowance scheme.

So, as editors gathered in the government headquarters conference room with Leung, some started to wonder whether the city really needed a discussion about Leung's governing philosophy or practical solutions to more urgent problems.

"As the chief executive, of course I must do more substantial work to improve people's livelihoods, but I'm also obliged to voice my ideas and vision clearly to the public, directly," Leung told the editors, noting the criticism from some lawmakers that his Legco speech was hollow.

People close to Leung said that his top aides were divided on what should have been Leung's main theme in his first Legco speech. It was Leung himself who finally decided on the broader visionary theme.

Hongkongers are well known for being pragmatic and practical. Ideological debate is not our cup of tea.

"Leung believes that as the community is being torn by controversies like Hong Kong-mainland relations and social inequality, he is determined to articulate his thoughts, and whether that is seen as 'empty talk' is for the public to judge," a Leung aide said.

Whether you agree with him or not, Leung used his Legco address to voice his views on Hong Kong-mainland tensions. He spoke of his "G2G" (government-to-government) concept, dismissing the "big market, small government" doctrine of predecessor Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, saying the "positive non-interventionism" of the colonial era was outdated.

But working out sound and practical solutions for pressing problems is quite another matter. The public's focus is now on what down-to-earth measures Leung and his administration will come up with in his maiden policy address in January, especially over housing, poverty, the environment and an ageing population.

The public, however, won't wait forever for answers, especially on how to curb soaring property prices. The surprise new property stamp duty is obviously a "special measure with a special timing", instead of a real remedy.

Last Wednesday, Leung started his consultation for drafting his policy address, meeting various sectors including political parties and media representatives. He knows full well that people don't want to listen to any more philosophising - they want to hear about solutions. This is the beginning of Leung's second tough 100 days in office.