An attempt to make Hong Kong a green model for Asia and plans to cut air pollution by more than half in four years were among the main planks of Tung Chee-hwa's environmental pledges.
And he promised to spend $30 billion within the next decade on improving the environment.
Although Mr Tung failed to bend to pressure to introducing user-pays charges for waste disposal immediately, he promised the Government would shortly propose a landfill charging scheme.
He made a commitment to reduce air pollution-causing suspended respirable particles by 60 per cent by the end of 2003, and by 80 per cent two years later. Nitrogen oxide emissions are to be cut by one-third by 2005.
If this is achieved, Hong Kong would compare favourably with other international centres such as New York or London. At the moment, air pollution here is 50 per cent worse than New York's.
The reduction is to be achieved by increasing on-the-spot smoky vehicle fines to $1,000; giving $1.4 billion in grants to taxi, bus and truck owners for emissions testing, and the installation of particulate traps and catalytic converters; and more pedestrian zones in Causeway Bay, Tsim Sha Tsui and Mongkok. Seminars are to be conducted for the motor trade on better maintenance and 'eco-driving', and another 300 smoky vehicle spotters are to be trained.