MCLC: Leung Chun-ying issues populist vows

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: kirk (denton.2 at osu.edu)
Subject: Leung Chun-ying issues populist vows
***********************************************************

Source: NYT (1/16/13):
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/17/world/asia/hong-kong-leader-pledges-to-ea
se-housing-shortage.html

Leader Issues Populist Vows in Hong Kong
By GERRY MULLANY and KEITH BRADSHER

HONG KONG — Hong Kong’s embattled chief executive on Wednesday used his
first policy address to outline a series of populist proposals to
alleviate the severe housing shortages and air pollution that have
bedeviled the city.

The chief executive, Leung Chun-ying — who took office in July and has
already weathered one legislative vote of no confidence, one vote to start
an impeachment process and a series of large street protests — pledged to
help produce 100,000 housing units over the next five years by
streamlining approvals, opening undeveloped land for housing and even
using rock caverns and other underground spaces for development.

Despite a moderation in apartment prices, demand for housing remains
intense, Mr. Leung said.

“Many families have to move into smaller or older flats, or even factory
buildings,” he said. “Cramped living space in cage homes, cubicle
apartments and subdivided flats has become the reluctant choice for tens
of thousands of Hong Kong people.”

Large developments in Hong Kong take 10 to 20 years to approve and build
because they involve considerable public consultation, elaborate
engineering for building on the city’s steep slopes and sometimes the
construction of subway stops. Mr. Leung, 58, cautioned that his suggested
measures might not bring quick relief.

His address came amid an increasing drumbeat of criticism over his
administration, centering on his perceived close ties to the Chinese
leadership and his actions during his election campaign. During the race,
he concealed the fact that he had expanded his $64 million home without
receiving government planning permission, while criticizing his opponent
for similar transgressions.

Mr. Leung’s tenure in office has been star-crossed almost from the start.
A plan for patriotic education, which had been under preparation for a
decade, set off huge demonstrations, sit-ins and hunger strikes at the
local government’s headquarters when schools began moving to introduce it
two months after Mr. Leung took office.

The subsequent revelation that Mr. Leung had sealed up an illegal
extension of his basement with a brick wall several days before he began
his run for office — and then upended his opponent’s election campaign by
accusing him of illegal basement construction — left him vulnerable to
accusations of hypocrisy. Even Mr. Leung’s moves to improve the
affordability of housing have been troubled, as his steep taxes on
short-term real estate purchases by people without permanent residency
cards have antagonized wealthy developers, who want to be able to sell
their apartments to whoever will pay the most.

In his speech on Wednesday, Mr. Leung tried to change the political
narrative by addressing the bread-and-butter concerns of the residents of
Hong Kong, where an influx of money, much of it from the Chinese mainland,
has led to yawning wealth disparities.

“While Hong Kong is a generally affluent society, there are still many
people who live a hand-to-mouth existence,” he said. “Public resources
should be devoted to those who cannot provide for themselves.”

Mr. Leung also promised to reduce air pollution, notably through the
retirement of diesel trucks. He said his government would offer a total of
$1.29 billion to the owners of more than 80,000 old, heavily polluting
trucks, who will be required to retire them or replace them with new
models.

The government said the plan would reduce roadside emissions of
particulates by 80 percent and emissions of smog-causing nitrogen oxides
by 30 percent.

While cars tend to draw more attention than trucks as pollution sources
because of their greater numbers, American air pollution researchers
working in Asia have found that the diesel engines in trucks and buses are
a far bigger threat. They account for over 90 percent of vehicular
emissions of particulates and nitrogen oxides in mainland China, studies
have found. Some studies have also found that diesel exhaust is
carcinogenic, but this aspect of Chinese air pollution has been studied
less.

In a bid to blunt the criticism against his leadership, Mr. Leung has
sought the support of young people, who have become increasingly active in
the past year in street protests, which have traditionally drawn more
middle-aged demonstrators. The city’s young people face higher
unemployment than previous generations and more worries about housing
affordability. But they also tend to be sympathetic to environmental
concerns about encroachment on the city’s many hillside parks, which
developers regard as a hindrance.

“Our young people should recognize that the planning proposals and
development options under discussion today are intended to address their
future needs,” Mr. Leung said. “It is all too easy for the government to
sidestep the problem, but it is today’s young people who will have to bear
the adverse consequences in the future.”