Lam expects more prosperous HK with improved electoral system

The chief executive stressed in particular the shortage of housing.

The government has made providing affordable housing to Hong Kong people a top policy priority, Lam said. "Housing is not just a commodity but a pillar to social stability... (making) people have a sense of belonging to a place."

An array of favorable policies have been carried out for residents from different walks of life, and the share of new land used for public housing has been significantly increased to 70 percent.

Lam highlighted land reclamation as the major solution to the undersupply of land.

The chief executive proposed a land reclamation project to build a large artificial island in 2018 but waited for one year and a half for the LegCo to approve the funding on related studies. "How many 'year and a halfs' does Hong Kong have to waste? If it takes 18 months for the LegCo to pass a study and seven months to elect a (committee) chair, I would be very pessimistic about Hong Kong's development."

But Lam sees hopes now. "In the future, we will definitely make more efforts in land development," she said.

Another task high on Lam's work agenda is the vaccination campaign against COVID-19.

"Getting the vaccine is the most important and effective means (to control the epidemic). While there is a lack of vaccine doses elsewhere, Hong Kong is very lucky to have a sufficient and stable supply thanks to the central authorities' support," Lam said.

As the vaccination ratio was still comparatively low, she promised more efforts to encourage the public to receive the jabs and pointed out that a 70-percent ratio will lead to a herd immunity and facilitate the resumption of cross-border travel.

"NOT INTIMIDATED BY SANCTIONS"

"Having been a chief executive for almost four years, especially in the past two years, I have first-hand experience of how overseas governments and politicians have exploited Hong Kong to achieve their agenda," Lam said.

She said the free and diverse society of Hong Kong without a national security law in place gave anti-China forces the room to step in, including appointing their agents to go into Hong Kong's political structure, disrupting the Hong Kong-mainland relationship and using Hong Kong to attack the People's Republic of China.

Lam said three words and phrases would perfectly describe the external interference in Hong Kong affairs over the past years: "double standards," "hypocrisy," and "lies."

National security legislation is a common practice globally, but the law being adopted in China's Hong Kong was smeared and slandered, she said.

"Every country requires public servants to be patriotic. But when we ask our civil servants to take an oath ... swearing allegiance to the HKSAR and upholding the Basic Law, they said that we are stifling freedom of speech," Lam said.

Some overseas governments and media alleged police brutality in Hong Kong despite the violent situation the police faced, but when the police were attacked in their countries, they, on the contrary, said the violence is "disgusting," Lam said.

"There are a lot of examples where they are just displaying double standards in a very blatant way without shame," she said.