Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying defends education policy from criticism by former No 2 Carrie Lam
Addressing press before weekly Exco meeting, city’s top official also blames increase in wait times for public housing on delaying tactics by pan-democrats
Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying defended his education policy a day after former chief secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, who is seeking to succeed him as the city’s leader, criticised the administration’s insufficient spending on the area.
Leung also hit out at opposition lawmakers for delaying the government’s housing and land development projects as the average waiting time for public rental housing further lengthened.
On his former No 2’s remarks that the proportion of government spending on education this year, at 21.5 per cent, had dropped to the lowest since the 1997 handover, Leung explained that this was because public spending on other policy areas had increased more quickly than for education.
“On social welfare, our spending has increased by 55 per cent in recent years,” he added.
Leung declined to comment on Lam’s lack of a full policy platform – she is the only one of the four candidates who has yet to roll out a complete manifesto – and turned instead to the need for election debates.