HK chief executive highlights social concerns in 2015 policy address(2)

He added that there is neither overseas precedent nor " international standard" of the kind.

"We fully recognize the aspirations of our young students for democracy and their concerns about constitutional development. They should be guided towards a full understanding of the constitutional relationship between our country and Hong Kong so that the discussion on constitutional development would not be fruitless."

"The rule of law is the foundation of Hong Kong. The democratic development of Hong Kong must therefore be underpinned by the same. As we pursue democracy, we should act in accordance with the law, otherwise Hong Kong will degenerate into anarchy," Leung said.

HOUSING AND LAND

Increasing and expediting land supply is the fundamental solution to resolve the land and housing problems of Hong Kong, said the chief executive.

Leung said the root of many social and economic problems in Hong Kong lies in the shortage of land for development. There is a serious mismatch between the supply of land and the needs of the society.

"The short supply of land and housing has led to rising property prices and rents," the chief executive said, noting that high property prices and rents have prevented many young people from forming a family or starting their own business.

Leung said what Hong Kong lacks is not land, but land that is developable.

The difference lies in the need for land planning and development, he said, adding that the process of land planning and development takes time.

"We have to take into consideration more and more factors such as the impact on traffic, environment, conservation and even air ventilation in the planning process," he said, as a result, the supply of developable land has decreased or decelerated. Society as a whole must make hard choices, he said.

Planning must reflect the overall interests of Hong Kong and heed the priorities of society's needs, Leung added, saying not only the well-being of individual areas in planning and development, but also the overall housing supply and demand of Hong Kong as a whole should be considered.

In the past two years, the government has stepped up efforts to increase land supply and build up a land reserve by adopting a multi-pronged strategy and various short, medium and long-term measures, he said, adding that the government will relax outdated restrictions and streamline procedures to facilitate land development.

YOUTH EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT

In the policy address, the chief executive said that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government will set up a 300- million-HK dollars (38.7 million US dollars) Youth Development Fund to support innovative youth development activities.