Chief Executive challenger Alan Leong Kah-kit says an uncontested election for the city's leadership would result in a ruler who is arrogant and complacent. He also accused Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen of lacking vision and solutions to the city's many problems. In a politically charged election speech, Mr Leong said competition was the only way to ensure the best candidate with the best policies would win the mandate to rule. 'Absence of competition favours the mediocre, the unimaginative and allows political leaders to become arrogant, complacent, remote and defensive. I cannot accept there will be no competition for the top political post in Hong Kong for the third time in 10 years,' he told a lunch hosted by the Hong Kong Democratic Foundation. Mr Tsang and his predecessor, Tung Chee-hwa, were widely seen as Beijing's predetermined choices, leaving little chance for any real challenger. Mr Leong said the feedback gathered from his street campaign showed the community wanted a contested race. 'The message is loud and clear. Beijing should take that on board,' he said. The Civic Party barrister-lawmaker said Mr Tsang had focused only on political slogans without offering solutions during his tenure. 'Strong government and strong governance are no substitute for the vision of our future which Hong Kong needs,' he said. Referring to the brief policy speech delivered by Mr Tsang last month, Mr Leong asked: 'Has he run out of ideas? Or does he take it for granted it makes no difference what he thinks or says? The goldfish are in no danger of leaving Government House before 2012.' He said a democratically elected government would provide the key to good governance, as it had to be accountable for its decisions and be responsive to public needs. Mr Leong conceded that securing the 100 nominations from the 800-member Election Committee needed to run would be difficult. He said many committee members had to support Beijing's preferred candidate for fear of upsetting their businesses or careers. He remained confident, however, of being nominated if the committee members also appreciated the public's wish for a contested election. He sought to play down criticism from allies in the League of Social Democrats, who are determined to stay away from the so-called small-circle election. Lung Yingtai, a former Taiwanese minister of culture and visiting professor at the Journalism and Media Studies Centre at the University of Hong Kong, has backed Mr Leong's bid. However, she said it would still be a 'fake' competition even if Mr Leong managed to enter the race. 'Mr Tsang will win anyway. He will be able to say he has won a very competitive race,' she said. She said democracy in Taiwan could serve as a reference for Hong Kong.