Exclusive | Three Hong Kong leaders share one vision for city: optimism

Chief executives past, present and future say outlook is bright thanks to ‘one country, two systems’ governing formula

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Former Hong Kong chief executive Tung Chee-hwa (left) shaking hands with incumbent chief executive Leung Chun-ying at the forum at the Conrad Hotel in Admiralty on Monday. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

Published: 11:15pm, 12 Jun 2017Updated: 3:58pm, 16 Jun 2017

Three heads of Hong Kong’s government – past, present and future – gave their full vote of confidence on Monday to the “one country, two systems” formula that guarantees the city’s freedoms, tracking its performance over the last two decades and promising its continued success.

In a keynote speech at a seminar organised by the Post to mark the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover to Chinese sovereignty, incoming chief executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor vowed to protect the core values enshrined in the ruling formula.

With just three weeks to go before she is sworn in, Lam said it was her “foremost duty” to protect Hong Kong’s key strengths, such as its open economy, rights and freedoms, clean government and independent judiciary.

“They are our ingredients of success as an international financial centre,” she said. “Hong Kong has a strong base ... I firmly believe that we have the ability to scale even greater heights.”

Lam’s predecessor, Leung Chun-ying, whom she will take over from on July 1, told the forum that one country, two systems had been critical to the city’s progress.