Leung Chun-ying

Leung Chun-ying GBM, GBS, JP (born 12 August 1954), commonly known as C. Y. Leung or "689", is the third and incumbent Chief Executive of Hong Kong who assumed office on 1 July 2012. A politician of the pro-Beijing bloc, Leung has held various political offices including Convenor of the Executive Council and Member of the Provisional Legislative Council before winning the "small-circle" Hong Kong Chief Executive election, 2012 in which 689 of the 1200 largely Beijing-friendly appointees on the Election Committee chose him over his opponents Henry Tang and Albert Ho. Across the territory, he is nicknamed "The Wolf" by some opponents – alluding to his cunning and deviousness, and as a pun of his name and the Chinese word for wolf.

Leung Chun-ying 2013

Quotes

On Liu Xiaobo being awarded the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize:

• I believe that Deng Xiaoping should have been the first Chinese Nobel Peace Prize winner, not [political prisoner] Liu Xiaobo. (2010)

On Hong Kong’s role within China:

• We are still a model in ways economic and non-economic. When I say things non-economic, I would include governance — and rule of law is a key element. Many, I sincerely believe they tell the truth, say that they still look to Hong Kong for inspiration. (2012)

On disenfranchisement:

• "People are disenfranchised because they don’t vote, they are disengaged because we don’t talk to them, and we don’t listen, not directly. There is a sense of being disowned, and therefore, there’s a deep sense of distrust between the people and the government, or by the people of government. I want to bridge that gap and I want to re-engage with the people." (2012)

On public fears of censorship and diminishing freedoms under his leadership:

• "Before 1997, some people were publicly claiming that they would be put behind bars [after the resumption of Chinese sovereignty], or not be allowed to return if they left. Some people even feared that certain books or magazines would not be read in Hong Kong and that the Chinese government would somehow monitor the Internet. They’ve been proved wrong, and I can prove them wrong again." (2012)

On poverty in Hong Kong:

• "The so-called elite in Hong Kong has what we call 'Central District values", and I think Hong Kong would do a lot better if everyone could just travel out a bit and see how, not just the other half, but probably the other 75%, lives." (2012)

On one-person-one-vote democracy:

• "If it's entirely a numbers game – numeric representation – then obviously you'd be talking to half the people in Hong Kong [that] earn less than US$1,800 a month [the median wage in HK]. You would end up with that kind of politics and policies". (2014)

• "So long as it is universal suffrage implemented in that jurisdiction, it is genuine universal suffrage." – on being asked specifically whether Burma and North Korea have genuine universal suffrage. (2015)

Chinese New Year message to Hong Kong people in 2015 (year of the sheep):

• “Last year was no easy ride for Hong Kong. Our society was rife with differences and conflicts. In the coming year I hope that all people in Hong Kong will take inspiration from the sheep’s character and pull together in an accommodating manner to work for Hong Kong’s future.” (2015)

On the reported case of abuse of inmates at a private geriatric home in May 2015, and in response to a legislator's call to introduce an accreditation system to monitor private homes:

• "If we had more land, we could provide space to non-profit organisations to offer more elderly home services … the elderly and their children could afford a better service." (2015)

On the veto of his electoral reforms in June 2015 by pan democrats following the walk-out by 33 pro-establishment lawmakers; the reform bill was rejected with a 28:8 majority:

• “There were some technical questions on the day of vote … Unfortunately, the bill was vetoed by a minority.” (2015)

When asked whether he wanted China or Hong Kong to win the World Cup qualifier match being played in Hong Kong on 17 November:

• “Unfortunately, there would be no live casting of the game, hence we will have to miss the game.” (2015)

Commenting on Lee Bo, who is suspected of having been abducted to mainland China:

• "I hope anyone, especially Lee Bo himself, can provide relevant information".