"People's expectation is my obligation. In the next five years, I'll be hand in hand with seven million Hong Kong citizens to turn the city into a more prosperous, righteous and progressive society," Leung Chun-ying, newly-elected Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), said in a recent exclusive interview with Xinhua.

Leung Chun-ying, newly-elected Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Government's role

The HKSAR held the election for the fourth-term chief executive on March 25. In the first round of the voting, Leung garnered 689 votes, a majority of the 1,132 votes cast by members of the 1,200- member Election Committee.

Born in 1954, Leung is the son of a police officer. He went to Britain to study in 1974 and returned to Hong Kong as a surveyor in 1977.

In the 1980s, Leung was appointed member of the Basic Law Consultative Committee. After the handover of Hong Kong in 1997, he was appointed convenor of the Non-Official Members of the Executive Council.

In his political platform, 57-year-old Leung emphasized that Hong Kong does not need radical reforms. Instead, he would introduce some changes in the midst of stability.

Leung explained to Xinhua that smooth development is key to Hong Kong's future. To this end, changes must be introduced to create a harmonious environment for growth.