I'll Build Trust With People Through Actions: CE

Chief Executive John Lee said on Saturday that the government won't try to change people's political views, and that he wants to use the results of his actions to build mutual trust.

He made the comments while talking about the government's youth policy blueprint, due to be published later this year. The blueprint will be aimed at helping under-40s across a range of policy areas, including education, entrepreneurship and homebuying.

Asked on an RTHK programme whether he was trying to mend social divides with the scheme, Lee said it was normal for people in a diversified society like Hong Kong to have different views.

"Many things that are political, it's like religion, you believe in something, you don't change," the CE said. "So I think, in this regard, it's not practical to convince people to change, we shouldn't change people's thinking.

"But we can use our action to make the person understand why we do something. I think this is most important – we use our action to draw people closer, then we can communicate."

On Commercial Radio, meanwhile, Lee was asked how authorities can help those who have been convicted over the 2019 protests.

He said the government and many non-government organisations would do their best to take an empathetic approach towards rehabilitation.

He stressed, however, that the basis of the rule of law cannot change, adding that people should bear the legal consequences of their actions rather than dodging them.

On the High Court ruling that the government has no legal power to cancel some 20,000 Covid vaccine exemption certificates, Lee stressed that the government always acts according to the law, and that its intention is to try and control the local epidemic situation.

He said health officials and the Department of Justice are studying the judgement and that he thinks they will come up with a proposal soon.

When asked whether the judgement had hurt his governance, Lee said officials had fully considered the legal basis of its cancellation of the exemptions, but that the court had taken a different view in its interpretation of the law.

He reiterated that Hong Kong has a sound legal system that is fundamental to the territory's success.

On the question of reopening the border with the mainland, Lee said the SAR government would cooperate with the mainland's anti-epidemic policy and doesn't want any of its measures to add to the risks faced by the mainland.