Carrie Lam focuses on housing, education and tax, but dodges Hong Kong’s big political issues

Chief executive contender Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on Monday unveiled a partial election platform promising more affordable homes, billions more spending on education and tax cuts for small firms, while giving wide berth to contentious political issues.

The only candidate among the four runners not to have announced her full platform ahead of the two-week nomination period which begins on Tuesday, Lam attributed the delay to her starting her campaign late. It would take time to collect views from the public and stakeholders and so she would be ready with a full plan early next month.

That did not stop two influential Beijing-loyalist parties, which have more than 120 seats in the Election Committee, from endorsing the former chief secretary on Monday.

A candidate needs 150 nominations from the committee to qualify for the race and 601 votes to win. The 1,194-member panel will pick the city’s next leader on March 26.

On her partial platform, Lam said: “Governance is not only about a manifesto. It is more about my heart, my attitude and integrity.”

She promised to explain her views on political reform when her full platform was ready early next month.