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Opinion | Election Committee has much to consider as race to be Hong Kong’s next chief executive hots up
- Leung Chun-ying appears to have taken himself out of the running for a return to Hong Kong’s top job, but several hopefuls are still in the race, and the incumbent is fighting on
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There are still six months to go before the next chief executive election, but the race is heating up. In view of the fast-changing backdrop, I thought it might be good to do a stocktaking exercise to help track future developments.
Judging from his recent silence, former chief executive Leung Chun-ying has taken himself out of the running. This is wise. It is questionable whether Beijing would have allowed a comeback because that would have called into question the original decision in 2017 to switch horses.
Incumbent Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor is still fighting for a second term. Despite reports in some quarters that Beijing has ruled her out, she continues to see herself as a viable candidate.
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Either she hasn’t heard the rumours or doesn’t believe them and wants to fight on. Her recent announcement of a significant restructuring of policy bureaus fits into this scenario. Splitting the transport and housing portfolios into separate policy areas was first suggested years ago.
When Hong Kong’s housing development was largely “rail led”, it made sense to push them both together, but it has been obvious for a long time that the job is just too big for any one person. Certainly, the incumbent has struggled.
10:08
Hong Kong has until 2049 to fix its housing crisis, but is it possible?
Hong Kong has until 2049 to fix its housing crisis, but is it possible?
The question will be how to coordinate housing with land supply, and of course both have to be coordinated with transport. There’s no point having land suitable for housing development if there is no access to it.
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