Striking a balance between conservation and development is crucial while addressing the housing shortage, Chief Executive CY Leung said today.
Speaking on a radio phone-in programme to discuss his 2015 Policy Address, Mr Leung responded to callers' concerns about building a waste incinerator on Lantau Island. He stressed that the Government was open to alternative locations for the site during the public consultation, but despite lengthy debates in the Legislative Council another site could not be found. He noted that LegCo eventually approved building the incinerator on Lantau, and it was not just a Government initiative.
The Chief Executive acknowledged that no residents would welcome an incinerator in their neighbourhood and that Lantau has great scenic value, but the Government needs to strike a balance between the needs of Hong Kong's social and economic development as well as conservation.
"We do have huge pressure to provide more land for housing, for old people's homes, for hospitals, so we seriously have to look at the balance," Mr Leung said.
The Chief Executive also explained why he chose to open his Policy Address with the pressing issue of Hong Kong's constitutional development.
He described 2014 as a "very different year" as the debate over electing the Chief Executive by universal suffrage in 2017 escalated and led to the Occupy Central protests. Mr Leung said he believed it was a good starting point to address the "root issues" that include the constitutional arrangements that are specified in the Basic Law.
Mr Leung added that the city has a "historic chance" of amending the method of electing the Chief Executive, but reiterated that it must proceed in line with the constitutional arrangements set out in the Basic Law, which means securing a two-thirds majority in LegCo, the agreement of the Chief Executive, and the approval of the National People's Congress Standing Committee.
"Whether Hong Kong should be independent or whether Hong Kong could change the method of selecting the Chief Executive by itself, or whether we should have, or could have civic nomination to nominate Chief Executive candidates for universal suffrage purposes in 2017, all belong to a same bucket, namely what's in the basic law and what's not in basic law," he said.
