In his maiden Policy Address delivered yesterday, Chief Executive Donald Tsang put forward the three main themes of his rule - pursuing excellence in governance, fostering harmony in the community, and helping the economy to power ahead, in the process revealing the characteristics of a people-based and pragmatic government.

It is also an indication that under the current favorable situation, Tsang has not forgotten how the people have placed their trust in him, nor does he want to fall short of the expectations of society and the country. His strengthening of governance is based on public opinion and interests. He is committed to acting out his words, adopting a pragmatic attitude and making himself accountable for his actions.

The most pressing demand of the SAR government under the new chief executive is enhancing its ruling capability. The reason why the administration has been kept in a weak position is complicated - partly because of the hindrance of pan-politicization of society, and partly because of the bottling up of grievances due to economic slowdown. Certainly, the below-par ruling ability of the administration had a lot to do with the problem as well.

Now that the economy is back on the right track and prospects have brightened up again, people are regaining confidence and the social atmosphere has become more harmonious. Such conditions, with the help of the government's rising popularity, help create at a steady pace an environment that is conducive to governance. Under such circumstances, Tsang stressed in his speech the need to rule strictly according to law, to realize executive-led governance, to strengthen the functions of the chief executive office, to empower the chief secretary for administration and the financial secretary to play a bigger role in coordinating government policies, to bolster the number of non-official members of the Executive Council, to invite more talents into the Commission on Strategic Development, and to give more powers to district officers, amongst other things.

All these measures to strengthen governance have not been formulated behind closed doors. Instead, they are based on public opinion and interests, with input from a wide spectrum of society. A government with a clear direction, stable policies, strong leadership, resolution and high efficiency that is formed under such conditions is definitely something we should give credit to.

As far as the second theme - fostering harmony in the community - is concerned, Tsang proposed it in the Policy Address, in addition to a series of measures aimed to help the socially vulnerable, ruling under the principle of fairness, dealing with different interests with impartiality. He is committed to maintaining order and fair competition in the market, making joint efforts to safeguard pluralism and inclusiveness in our community, opposing any form of discrimination, attaching significance to family values, and encouraging the promotion of multiple cultures. Compared with other metropolises in the world, Hong Kong is much more serene and peaceful.

On the other hand, the impact of pan-politicization in society cannot be overlooked. To build a harmonious society, we must depend on the rule of law, and the principles of fairness and righteousness as well as on democracy.

(China Daily October 13, 2005)