CY Leung delivers pragmatic yet perfect vision for city
Leung, who gave 19,500-word speech without a sip of water, painted prospect of a perfect city
Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying followed that most pragmatic of speech-making rules - tell them what you are going to say, say it, then tell them what you've said.
Indeed, as well as being a key component of the speech's title, pragmatism lay at the core of much of what the embattled leader had to say.
Not that it did not contain a significant sprinkling of expansive flourish. Hong Kong, he said, can be the "loveliest city in the world", with "lush countryside, fresh air and a clean environment", not to mention providing "a unique fusion of Chinese and Western influences".
Quite a vision.
The desire to paint a picture of what the city could be, was clearly front and centre of CY and his spin doctors' thinking.
"The picture symbolises that my government is people-oriented and forward-looking," Leung said. "For every Hongkonger, no matter their origin, race or religion, Hong Kong is our home. We are one family."
The cover also reminded some observers of the publicity material produced by Leung's failed rival for chief executive, Henry Tang Ying-yen - a suggestion that CY only smiled at when he was asked yesterday.
Leung's speech was 19,500 words long, slightly more than his predecessor Donald Tsang Yam-kuen's swansong, but he polished it off in just over two hours - without a single sip of water. His delivery was no-nonsense, with repeated finger-pointing to emphasise the challenges Hong Kong faces, and his determination to overcome them.
Themes like "development" and "land" dominated the speech, with the two key words appearing 193 and 169 times. Other words such as "people" (93), "housing" (77), "mainland" (53), "environment" (32) and "committee" (31) also appeared frequently.
Regardless of what Leung said yesterday, radical lawmakers were determined to continue adding colour to the Legislative Council chamber, with four being expelled. People Power lawmakers Wong Yuk-man, Albert Chan Wai-yip and Raymond Chan Chi-chuen, who called for Leung to quit, were expelled at the start of the speech.
League of Social Democrats lawmaker "Long Hair" Leung Kwok-hung was also expelled 30 minutes later, after his pro-government neighbour Ma Fung-kwok complained he was making noises "repeatedly".
