For most of us, 100 days pass in the twinkling of an eye. But for Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, notching his 100th day in office on Monday will be significant - if only because it will prove the sceptics who didn't expect him to last three months wrong.
"I never wanted to be just a peacetime chief executive," he said. "If it were not for the great challenges and difficulties, I would not have wanted to take up this job." Leung sat with the Post on Wednesday as he dealt with the aftermath of Monday's ferry tragedy, and said he was fully engaged with his mission to solve the city's problems.
The exciting moments of Leung's first 100 days in office have gone hand in hand with challenges. Even as he was being sworn in on July 1, tens of thousands of protesters were massing to call for his resignation.
Exactly three months on, moments after he had enjoyed the National Day fireworks, he took an urgent call from an aide telling him that two boats had collided off Lamma.
"C.Y. Leung on his challenges and rewards" video by Hedy Bok
But asked to reflect on his three months, Leung looked for positives. "The most rewarding thing is that myself and all my principal officials, together with civil servants of all ranks, have worked together extremely well, and that we're heading in the right direction," Leung said. "Predictions that the new government or myself would not be able … to work with principal officials and civil servants have been proven wrong."