There would be continual challenges to the government’s legitimacy without the realisation of universal suffrage, Tsang argued.

“For the sake of our society’s stability and good governance, we must therefore, with the greatest determination and courage, restart the process to amend the procedure to elect the chief executive during the next term of the government,” he wrote.

“I do not underestimate the difficulties of achieving consensus on political reform. But I believe if we can formulate a chief executive election plan which is acceptable to different quarters, that will be a big step forward for Hong Kong’s political system, and both Hong Kong people and ‘one country, two systems’ will be winners.”

He vowed to communicate closely with different groups and facilitate dialogue between these groups and Beijing in order to improve understanding and build consensus.

Despite his liberal stance on reform, Tsang raised eyebrows with his position on the legislation of Article 23 of the Basic Law, which requires the enaction of a local law to protect national security. The administration was forced to shelve such a bill in 2003 after half a million people, who feared that their freedoms and rights would be curbed, took to the streets.

“The Basic Law has now been implemented in Hong Kong for close to 20 years. There is no reason for the HKSAR government to delay the enactment of local legislation in accordance with Article 23 any longer,” Tsang said. “I believe the main concern is not about whether to legislate or not, but about the details of the law and the legislative procedures.”

He proposed to conduct a thorough public consultation on the legislation of Article 23, including publishing a proposed law in the form of a “white bill” to solicit public views on the contents.

Tsang, who is in a close race with former chief secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, also promised to improve the government’s integrity and transparency by extending the application of Sections 3 and 8 of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance to the chief executive and to establish an independent committee to give permission for the acceptance of advantages by the city’s leader.

Incumbent top official Leung Chun-ying has been reluctant to implement the above recommendations by the Independent Review Committee for the Prevention and Handling of Potential Conflicts of Interest, chaired by former chief justice Andrew Li Kwok-nang.

To address discontent among the city’s young people, Tsang vowed to foster their participation in policy discussion by building a new youth platform and setting a ratio for the appointment of new blood to certain government advisory boards and committees.

He suggested abolishing all Territory-wide System Assessment (TSA) and Basic Competence Assessment (BCA) tests in primary and secondary schools to halt the practice of intensive drilling. Chinese history should be made an independent compulsory subject in junior secondary school, he added.

On planning and housing, Tsang said he would implement the East Lantau Metropolis plan without compromising country parks and ecologically sensitive marine areas and increase public housing with a goal to accommodate 60 per cent of the total population in government-subsidised flats.

In response to a fast-greying population, Tsang adopted a suggestion earlier floated by the Elderly Service Programme Plan to reinstate population-based planning ratios for elderly services in the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines.

At a rally attended by many of Hong Kong’s business and political elite on Friday, Tsang’s key rival Lam outlined the key points of her election platform, which included introducing “new styles” of governance.

Lam said she hoped to reveal more on her platform, which was still being drafted, on the coming Sunday.

Tsang is due to meet the press at 2.30pm on Monday to introduce his full platform.

Key points of Tsang’s platform

Economic development

• Promote renminbi as currency for reserve and settlement

• Develop high-end logistics industry

Innovative and creative industry

• Make Hong Kong Asia’s fintech hub

• Encourage commercialisation of research outcomes

• Open more government data and improve government’s electronic data platform

Tax review

• Examine feasibility of introducing progressive profit tax and “negative income tax”

Planning and housing

• Develop New Territories North and retain unique features of small towns

• Better use of brownfield and deserted agricultural land through integrated planning

• Speed up redevelopment of aged public housing

• Address small house issues in New Territories flexibly and examine feasibility of building muiti-storey blocks or estates with mixed small houses and home-ownership flats

Transport

• More pedestrian walkways

• Encourage use of electric cars and buses

• Implement Electronic Road Pricing pilot scheme in Central

Environmental protection

• Protect water quality in rural areas

• Take action against dumping into rivers and ocean, enhance communication with Guangdong authorities

Youth development and education

• Enable young people’s participation in policy discussion

• Abolish all TSA and BCA tests

• Introduce Chinese history and Hong Kong history in junior secondary curriculum

• Consult and review whether chief executive should be chancellor of universities

Culture and sports

• Create new Cultural and Sports Bureau

• Launch 10-year plan for sports

Medical and labour

• Promote family medicine and primary care

• Full consultation on MPF offsetting issue

Assistance for underprivileged and elderly

• Review lump sum grant for subvented welfare organisations

• Offer more resource support for ethnic minorities to study Chinese and for admission to kindergarten

• Introduce town-planning standards to cover elderly homes