??? AT a press conference soon after voting results were announced March 25, Leung Chun-ying bowed and waved to the cheering audience and said he would uphold Hong Kong’s core values and work to solve many social conflicts in order to maintain the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong. “Hong Kong has many competitive advantages. People of Hong Kong are innovative, hardworking and adaptable,” Leung said. “As long as we seize the opportunities, our economy will continue to thrive and the livelihood of our people will improve.” ????He promised to focus on giving the people of Hong Kong better access to housing, education and medical care and added that “the freedoms enjoyed by Hong Kong people will not change.”???? ????Born in Hong Kong in 1954, Leung describes himself as 100 percent a Hong Kong person. He grew up in a cramped government apartment west of the city’s main business district, where his family shared a common washroom with 10 or so other households. Like his predecessor, Donald Tsang, Leung’s father was a police officer, one who came south from Shandong Province in the 1930s, along with many other migrants from the mainland fleeing political tumult at the time. ????To earn extra cash for the family, Leung started his working life early. “Years of labor took their toll and now my right shoulder is broader than my left,” he wrote on his campaign Web site.????? ????A top student, Leung won a scholarship to one of Hong Kong’s most elite public secondary schools, King’s College. After graduating, Leung studied surveying at Hong Kong Polytechnic and later went to the United Kingdom, where he earned a degree in real estate management at Bristol Polytechnic, while working part-time at restaurants to fund his studies. Leung has used the same briefcase since his days as a student in 1975. ????One of his teachers recalls a boy who enjoyed sports, especially soccer. These days, Leung prefers the pool and is a keen swimmer. Gardening is his other well-known passion. ????Peter Cheung Kwok-che, a schoolmate of Leung’s at King’s College and now a Labor Party lawmaker, said Leung did not stand out at school, but by the time the pair met again in the 1980s, there were signs of the impressive networking and career-building skills that would take Leung to the top. ????Leung returned to Hong Kong in 1977, just as the Chinese mainland was beginning its process of economic reform. At the time, Leung’s expertise as a surveyor was sorely needed across the border, where, encouraged by Deng Xiaoping, local leaders were eager to capitalize on property development and urban construction. ????He joined the Hong Kong office of real estate consultancy Jones Lang Wootton in 1977. Five years later, at the age of 28, he rose to become the youngest equity partner in the British company’s 200-year history. After branching out to form his own company, he rose to become chairman of real estate adviser DTZ Asia-Pacific, from which he quit in November to focus on his campaign. ????Leung’s political star began rising in 1985, when he was appointed to the Basic Law Consultative Committee. Three years later he became the secretary general of the committee, which was charged with agreeing on the details of the city’s mini-constitution. ????In 1996, Leung was named one of the vice chairmen of the preparatory committee overseeing Hong Kong’s handover to China the following year. ????He became the convenor of the Executive Council in 1999 and served in the role for more than a decade, until he stood down at the start of his election campaign last year. ????Along with his wife, Ching-yee, Leung has three children, all initialed “CY” — eldest son Chuen-yan and daughters Chai-yan and Chung-yan. In 2006, he became the largest personal shareholder of the London-listed DTZ Holdings.(SD-Agencies)????????????????????????????????????? ????SINCE 1978 — the very beginning of Shenzhen’s historic transitions — Leung Chun-ying has helped the city with the ongoing process of reform and opening up. ????He brought to Shenzhen his expertise and experience from previous work with the legal systems of Hong Kong and Western countries. As a professional surveyor, he also participated in the urban planning of the Shekou Industrial Zone and other parts of Shenzhen. ????Leung said he first came to Shenzhen in August 1977, shortly after returning to Hong Kong following his graduation from college in Britain. He remembered that he entered the city through the Luohu Checkpoint — then the only link between Hong Kong and Shenzhen. ????In 1979, Leung was invited as a member of Hong Kong’s Association of Experts For Modernization, Ltd., to give lessons in Shenzhen on weekends. But because of inconveniences involved with crossing the border at that time, he often had to spend nights on a makeshift bed in an overcrowded inn. ????Leung said for the first few years, he needed a translator to help him give lessons in Shenzhen. Later on, he learned to speak Mandarin and his students, who seldom communicated with him at first, gradually became his close friends. ????One of his students, Li Chuanfang, a former vice mayor of Shenzhen, said: “Leung always actively participated in Shenzhen’s urban planning. He has deep feelings for Shenzhen.” ????For eight years, Leung gave lessons in Shenzhen for free and paid for travel and books himself. ????“I did more volunteer work in Shenzhen than in any other city,” Leung said. “I feel my life was enriched for doing my part in developing Shenzhen and the country’s opening up.” ????Speculating on the future relationship between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, Leung said he expected free, unencumbered travel across the border for citizens of the two cities within 30 years. ????Leung said he intends to strengthen cooperation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen. In addition to Qianhai, which already is under construction, he said there is great potential for cooperation in Hong Kong’s restricted border areas, some of which opened last month. ????“I have a plan that would enable Shenzhen residents, or all mainland residents, to enter the restricted areas without a passport,” he said. ????At an interview with overseas media Wednesday, Leung said he feels most proud of two accomplishments: helping the mainland during its early reform years and helping return Hong Kong to China. ????At the end of his life, he says, that’s what he’ll remember.(Zhao Jie) ??? Person of the Week | 