Govt working hard to make up for lost time: CE
Chief Executive John Lee on Tuesday said his administration is fully committed in their work to make up for lost time due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the social unrest in 2019. Speaking to reporters before a weekly Executive Council meeting, Lee said he has had a "heavy workload" in the past year. "There are a lot of things we would have liked to do but didn't do as we wished because of the two problems, so we have to really chase time," he said.  "That will mean full commitment [from] myself and my team, and we will ensure that we will contribute our best – our efforts, our time and our energy – to ensure that this is done properly." The CE vowed to listen to different views in policymaking, and make decisions that take into account the overall interests of Hong Kong – even if they may not please everyone. "In almost all decisions by the government, it will be very difficult to have a matter which receives 100 percent unanimous opinion, so we have to make a decision after consulting [people], after listening to respective views."  Asked what his achievements were in the past year, Lee said they have overachieved targets in attracting talents, and local tourism has been recovering. "The target of 10 million tourists visiting Hong Kong has already been reached in five months, so we are positive that growth will continue in respect of tourism and consumption, and they will be the driving engines of growth in the coming year." He said authorities will continue to address the major challenge of land and housing, and seek more opportunities in economic development. Separately, Lee announced that a team of 59 civil servants who helped out in the Turkey earthquake rescue operation in February has won the first Chief Executive's Award for Exemplary Performance. The CE said the inter-departmental team, which had saved four people with bravery and professionalism, fully embodied the meaning of the award.