24 Chief Executives of two generations gather at Government House

After bidding farewell to 2013, we welcomed 2014 at Government House today along with 23 "Chief Executives", or 23 "Junior Chief Executives", to be precise.

To explain, the Boys' and Girls' Clubs Association of Hong Kong had organised the Election of Hong Kong Junior Chief Executives for the seventh time. The 23 Junior Chief Executives who came here for a tea gathering with me today are Secondary 2 to 4 students, and they even have their own Director of the Chief Executive's Office and a mini Policy Address. I find their Policy Address inspiring and will consider it seriously. Indeed, I am very grateful for the collective wisdom of these Junior Chief Executives.

This afternoon, these 23 Junior Chief Executives, their parents and I had a chat over tea on the lawn. I have always said that most of the Government's work is done for our next generation, so I place great emphasis on intergenerational co-operation.

One of the Junior Chief Executives mentioned universal suffrage, which is an issue of considerable public concern. In response I said, "The implementation of universal suffrage for the Chief Executive Election in 2017 is my constitutional responsibility and historic mission as the Chief Executive. I hope that some day it will be stated in textbooks that universal suffrage was first implemented in Hong Kong during C Y Leung's term."

Apart from universal suffrage, I also discussed other issues with these Junior Chief Executives, including housing, education, employment and youth development.

My thanks again to the Boys' and Girls' Clubs Association of Hong Kong for making the arrangements. I sincerely hope that among these Junior Chief Executives, a real Chief Executive will be elected by universal suffrage.

Video of the Chief Executive meeting Junior Chief Executives at a tea gathering

January 1, 2014