HK Leadership Race Starts as Leung Challenges Tang

“There are rising voices from the community seeking for change,” Leung, 57, said at a press briefing yesterday. “I aim to make Hong Kong a more prosperous, righteous and improved society.” The outgoing Asia Pacific chairman of London-listed property broker DTZ Holdings Plc will challenge Tang, 59, who announced on Nov. 26 his candidacy for the chief executive post.

Hong Kong’s economy barely grew in the third quarter, and surging home prices and inflation have spurred protests and led to a record-low approval rating for the government. Leung and Tang need to win votes from a 1,200-member election committee, some picked by China, that will select the replacement for outgoing Chief Executive Donald Tsang.

“Leung definitely has used his grassroots upbringing to good advantage to build a populist image,” said Willy Wo-Lap Lam, an adjunct professor of history at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. “Tang has never been able to shake off his image as the product of privilege, but he enjoys the support of Hong Kong’s tycoons. Beijing will go along with the candidate who wins the business community’s confidence.”