Chui Sai On pictured yesterday at the airport
The Chief Executive (CE) believes that the idle lands that are being claimed lately by the government, due to their non-development during the 25-year contract term, are enough to cover the almost 89,000 square meters of land debts held by the government.
During a press conference held yesterday morning at the local airport before his departure to Beijing, Chui Sai On said: “We are confident that these [idle] lands will be enough to respond not only to the developments [proposed on the five-year plan] but can also be reserved [for the reimbursements].” He reaffirmed that “the policy never changed, the priority is always public housing and social infrastructure [only] after we will take care of the devolutions […] if we win the legal disputes it is more than enough to pay back.”
The head of the government expressed total confidence that the land plots currently in legal disputes will all revert to the government as “we took all the measures according to the law.”
When questioned if there is any “plan b” in case that does not happen, the CE said that he couldn’t reply to a “hypothetical question,” calling for the “trust of people in the government.”
Before departing to Beijing, the CE was questioned about the evaluation that he does for the work of Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Alexis Tam. Tam was recently involved in a controversy over the placement of a banner which heavily criticized him on the façade of Hotel Estoril.
In response, the CE gave a positive assessment of Tam’s governance: “I have worked with him for more than ten years. He is a very committed and dedicated worker. He does have his own style but in all his projects he is very honest and he has been accepting the opinions of the population, especially the critics.”
After being presented with examples of cases where the society and some lawmakers expressed different views to Tam’s, the CE replied: “It looks like he is a naughty boy or that he wants to do everything [as he wishes]. He is a good colleague and is a good team member.”
During his two-day visit to Beijing, the CE is going to meet with central government authorities. Chui said that he expects to discuss the MSAR’s five-year plan. RM
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