Leung Chun-ying should keep visits in public eye

Over the past week or so, test balloons have been sent up around town regarding policies Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying is set to unveil in his maiden policy address on Wednesday.

Ensuring sufficient land supplies for affordable housing was one key theme flagged by many media "sources". And in an apparent effort at managing expectations, sources also downplayed the likelihood of another cash handout, saying that was just not Leung's style.

The policy address is a crucial moment for Leung to gain more public sympathy, if not support. He needs positive feedback. So it was no surprise that during a Government House cocktail party to celebrate the new year, Leung urged guests to voice their views more vigorously - there were more than 100 invited "representatives" from various sectors and many would have been labelled "Leung fans".

The chief executive claimed that there was a gap between public opinion and media opinion. He felt his support was much greater than the media reflected. It was a controversial claim, but a conclusion that Leung appears to have come to as a result of meeting people directly and quietly, without telling the media.

Before Christmas, Leung's office announced he would be away on holiday from December 25 to 30. Leung then revealed in his blog that he went to a government shelter to visit the homeless on Christmas Eve. Reporters only found out when they read the blog.

Three days later, Leung's deputy, Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, visited two hard-up families in Sham Shui Po. This was only revealed the next day when pictures were posted on the website of the Commission on Poverty, of which she is the chairwoman.