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Following is the transcript of remarks by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mrs Carrie Lam, at a media session on the 2015 Policy Address at the Legislative Council Complex today (January 14):
Reporter: Mrs Lam, what is your overall view about the Policy Address, and do you think the housing policies proposed by Mr Leung were sensible?
Chief Secretary for Administration: As I said, the 2015 Policy Address is a very comprehensive one. It has covered a wide range of policy areas. It also reflects our very strong wish to respond to the aspirations of the community, particularly in the housing area. As you can see, the Chief Executive has demonstrated that the Administration has really spared no efforts in creating and finding land to meet the community's housing needs as well as other development needs. But this area, like other policy areas, is not straightforward. It requires the co-operation and understanding of different sectors of the community. So I hope very much that in the coming years we will focus our attention on some of the challenges faced by the housing policy area, and try to resolve some of our differences.
Reporter: Are there any more policies that could help bridging about the differences in a divided society?
Chief Secretary for Administration: We are really putting out various measures in fostering the social cohesion that you have just mentioned. We know very well that housing is the top priority of society, and that's why the Chief Executive has put in a lot of focus on the housing portfolio area. Secondly is of course in poverty alleviation - trying to meet the needs of the disadvantaged - and that's why the Chief Executive has announced this major commitment to earmark HK$50 billion to support any measures to enhance retirement protection for elders in need. Exactly what we will do in terms of the proposals will depend on the outcome of public consultation that we will conduct in the second half of this year. Thank you very much.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Ends/Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Issued at HKT 15:09
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