Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Home
Business
Business Home
Economy
Technology
Media
Small Business
Legal
Deals
Earnings
Social Pulse
Business Video
The Freeland File
Aerospace & Defense
Markets
Markets Home
U.S. Markets
European Markets
Asian Markets
Global Market Data
Indices
M&A
Stocks
Bonds
Currencies
Commodities
Futures
Funds
peHUB
World
World Home
U.S.
Brazil
China
Euro Zone
Japan
Mexico
Russia
India Insight
World Video
Reuters Investigates
Decoder
Politics
Politics Home
Election 2012
Campaign Polling
Tales from the Trail
Political Punchlines
Supreme Court
Politics Video
Tech
Technology Home
MediaFile
Science
Tech Video
Tech Tonic
Social Pulse
Opinion
Opinion Home
Chrystia Freeland
John Lloyd
Felix Salmon
Jack Shafer
David Rohde
Bernd Debusmann
Nader Mousavizadeh
Lucy P. Marcus
David Cay Johnston
Bethany McLean
Anatole Kaletsky
Edward Hadas
Hugo Dixon
Ian Bremmer
Lawrence Summers
Susan Glasser
The Great Debate
Steven Brill
Jack & Suzy Welch
Frederick Kempe
Christopher Papagianis
Mark Leonard
Breakingviews
Equities
Credit
Private Equity
M&A
Macro & Markets
Politics
Breakingviews Video
Money
Money Home
Tax Break
Lipper Awards 2012
Global Investing
MuniLand
Unstructured Finance
Linda Stern
Mark Miller
John Wasik
James Saft
Analyst Research
Alerts
Watchlist
Portfolio
Stock Screener
Fund Screener
Personal Finance Video
Money Clip
Investing 201
Life
Health
Sports
Arts
Faithworld
Business Traveler
Entertainment
Oddly Enough
Lifestyle Video
Pictures
Pictures Home
Reuters Photographers
Full Focus
Video
Reuters TV
Reuters News
Article
Comments (0)
Full Focus
Editor's choice
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. See more
Images of June
Follow Reuters
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
YouTube
Read
Armed gang rapes women in Mexican youth camp
15 Jul 2012
Iran shuts down coffee shops in morality crackdown
15 Jul 2012
Saudi Arabia considers law against insulting Islam
15 Jul 2012
Scientists see AIDS vaccine within reach after decades
15 Jul 2012
Retail sales fall for third straight month in June
10:44am EDT
Discussed
114
Russia’s Putin says the West is on the decline
98
Romney may name running mate early in election race
96
Syria hit by diplomatic defection as U.N. battles divisions
Watched
Inventor turns plastic trash into liquid gold
Sat, Jul 14 2012
Egyptian protesters pelt Clinton motorcade
Sun, Jul 15 2012
North Korean leader accompanied by mystery woman
Sun, Jul 15 2012
Pictures
Reuters Photojournalism
Our day's top images, in-depth photo essays and offbeat slices of life. See the best of Reuters photography. See more | Photo caption
Siberian home gym
A beekeper in the Siberia builds himself a home gym made almost entirely out of wood. Slideshow
Comic-Con characters
Sci-fi, fantasy and anime characters turn up in droves for the annual Comic-Con convention in San Diego. Slideshow
HK's new leader unveils sweeteners to pacify angry public
Tweet
Share this
Email
Print
Related News
Billionaire HK property tycoons charged in bribery case
Fri, Jul 13 2012
Hong Kong's new government suffers fresh blow as official arrested
Thu, Jul 12 2012
ZTE shares slump to three-year low on earnings fears, EU spat
Tue, Jul 10 2012
China city scraps alloy plant after protests
Tue, Jul 3 2012
Protests as China's Hu urges new Hong Kong leader to resolve "problems"
Sun, Jul 1 2012
Analysis & Opinion
Pearl of the orient; 15 years after the Handover
Is this the real Hong Kong handover?
Related Topics
World »
Hong Kong's Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying (L) leaves after his first question and answer session as pro-democracy lawmaker Albert Chan holds a placard at the Legislative Council in Hong Kong July 16,2012.
Credit: Reuters/Tyrone Siu
By Sisi Tang and Tan Ee Lyn
HONG KONG |
Mon Jul 16, 2012 8:29am EDT
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong's embattled new leader, Leung Chun-ying, announced a series of welfare measures on Monday and pleaded for time to deal with scandals that have rocked the city, including illegal structures in his own home.
Leung, hand-picked by Beijing to lead Hong Kong, was speaking in his first question-and-answer session in the city's Legislative Council since taking over two weeks ago.
"I am aware of the doubts by a lot of people on my political team and me." said Leung. "I hope you give the government space and time to do something real so we win trust and respond to the aspirations of the public."
The scandals have tarnished the city's reputation as a relatively corruption-free financial center and made the public furious, creating a headache for China, which has been trying to maintain calm after the ouster of ambitious party elder Bo Xilai and ahead of the national leadership transition later this year.
Leung's tenure so far has been torrid. Last week, the billionaire co-chairmen of Sun Hung Kai Properties, one of the city's biggest developers, and Rafael Hui, the city's former chief secretary, were charged in a bribery investigation.
A day before, Leung's hand-picked development secretary, Mak Chai-kwong, was arrested in a separate investigation into the misuse of government housing allowances. Leung is himself ensnared in a scandal over six illegal structures at his HK$500 million ($64 million) home in the exclusive Peak district.
As Leung spoke in the legislature, maverick activist lawmaker "Long Hair" Leung Kwok-hung hurled an effigy of Pinnochio, the cartoon character prone to telling lies, at the new leader, missing him by a few meters.
The chief executive, the third person to lead Hong Kong since it returned to Chinese rule in 1997, was unfazed, maintaining a stoic expression throughout the 90-minute session.
Over 50 protesters gathered outside, holding placards and banners telling Leung to speak the truth.
"Leung Chun-ying: Liar" one banner proclaimed.
Tens of thousands of people protested when Leung was sworn in on July 1. Over the past two weeks, Leung has come up against protests during district visits, with people questioning his credibility and at one point chasing him out of a town hall meeting.
Praised as one of the world's freest and simplest low-tax havens for conducting business and a gateway to China, Hong Kong has nevertheless struggled over the past 15 years, with critics accusing Beijing of extensive behind-the-scenes meddling in political, electoral, academic, media and legal spheres.
Leung announced a string of sweeteners in a bid to appease a populace that is increasingly frustrated with a widening income gap and high living costs, including measures aimed at tackling poverty among the elderly and the housing needs of residents.
He promised that the monthly welfare allowance for low-income residents over 65 will be doubled.
Elderly residents will also see a doubling of healthcare vouchers allowing them to consult private doctors, in line with a larger plan to improve primary healthcare. Each year, 5,000 people with a monthly income of HK$30,000 and below will be allowed to buy subsidized flats in the secondary market.
Leung also promised to fix the illegal structures at his home.
"I have been seriously neglectful of this issue but I have not concealed any possible contraventions. In fact, they have all been dealt with swiftly, some of them have been removed in a day or two," he said.
Referring to the arrest and resignation of his development minister, Leung said the incident had given his team much to ponder and learn from, and he pleaded for patience.
"I and my team have been reviewing ourselves with humility. We should learn lessons from these incidents," he said.
Leung was selected in March by a committee of 1,200 of the city's elite, filled with Beijing loyalists. His main rival, Henry Tang, was seen as an early favorite of Beijing, but Tang's image was dented by revelations of a love affair and a scandal over illegal construction at his villa.
(Writing by Tan Ee Lyn, Editing By Anne Marie Roantree and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
World
Related Quotes and News
Company
Price
Related News
Tweet this
Link this
Share this
Digg this
Email
Reprints
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
Comments (0)
Be the first to comment on reuters.com.
Add yours using the box above.
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Back to top
Reuters.com
Business
Markets
World
Politics
Technology
Opinion
Money
Pictures
Videos
Site Index
Legal
Bankruptcy Law
California Legal
New York Legal
Securities Law
Support & Contact
Support
Corrections
Connect with Reuters
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
RSS
Podcast
Newsletters
Mobile
About
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
AdChoices
Copyright
Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider
An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution
A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance
Our next generation legal research platform
Our global tax workstation
Thomsonreuters.com
About Thomson Reuters
Investor Relations
Careers
Contact Us
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.