Executive Council convenor Leung Chun-ying stands out among his Peak district neighbours for reasons beyond his high profile in politics and business. The patron chairman of the new Climate Change Business Forum personally tends a 200 sq foot vegetable patch in his garden. 'It arouses a lot of curiosity among my neighbours,' he said. 'We are nearly self-sufficient.' Mr Leung said he had a love of nature that stretched back to his childhood when his police constable father was on duty in Government House and would let him roam the gardens. 'My parents have green fingers and I picked up gardening tricks and skills from them,' he said. 'In my personal life and public responsibilities, I've always taken a keen interest in issues related to the environment.' Born in Hong Kong in 1954, he attended the Hollywood Road Police Primary School where he topped his year in all six years. He won a scholarship to King's College, studied surveying at the Hong Kong Polytechnic and estate management at Bristol Polytechnic in Britain, working 20 hours a week in a Chinese takeaway shop, he said, to cover his expenses. In 1977, Mr Leung joined the Hong Kong office of British real estate consultancy Jones Lang Wootton, becoming its youngest partner after five years. In 1993, he co-founded CY Leung & Co, before later becoming Asia-Pacific chairman at DTZ Debenham Tie Leung. After 1988, when the mainland allowed private ownership of land-use rights, Mr Leung advised leading mainland cities on related regulations and land sales. He said he was the first external professional to open a real estate service company on the mainland. Mr Leung was involved in Hong Kong's return to China through key roles on the Basic Law Consultative Committee and bodies established by Beijing to pave the way for the founding of the Special Administrative Region. He was appointed to the Executive Council in 1997 and has been its convenor since 1999. In addition to other public service posts, Mr Leung is chairman of the Coalition of Professional Services and of the One Country Two Systems Research Institute. He is also a member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Mr Leung said his newest role would help him provide a 'ground-level understanding' in Exco of climate change issues, especially where business operations were concerned. 'I hope I'll be able to communicate not just between the forum, the business sector and the public, but also to government departments concerned.' He would be personally involved in recruiting more financial supporters and partners for the climate forum,' he said. 'I'm prepared to set aside as much time as possible because this is a priority subject,' he said.
