Chief Executive-elect John Lee on Sunday pledged to let concrete results do the talking, as he vowed to start a new chapter for Hong Kong by unifying the city, bringing a new culture of bold thinking to government, and addressing deep-rooted problems that have plagued the SAR for years.

In his first press conference since being elected as Hong Kong’s next leader with 1,416 of 1,424 valid votes cast, Lee said the high degree of support shown has given him “strong confidence” that his governance approach has their wide support, adding that the tens of thousands of messages from people his campaign had received gave him a deeper understanding of the needs and demands of all stratas of society.

Asked how he will win over support of critics who may not be convinced he’s the right man for the job, Lee said he’ll let the results his new team achieves speak for themselves.

“I do understand there will be a time that is needed for me to convince the people,” Lee said, “but I can do that by action so that when they see results, they somehow will know that well, at least, he is trying his best, and I hope that by accumulating successes after another success, then I can get them be convinced that what I’m trying to do is for the best of Hong Kong.”

He reiterated that his priorities will be to improve the living environment for Hong Kong people, ramp up the production of housing, and build a caring and inclusive society that promises more upward mobility opportunities for the youth of Hong Kong.

“My government will be determined to confront the well-entrenched issues that have faced Hong Kong for many years, take decisive steps and adopt efficient and effective actions to resolve them,” Lee said.

“I look forward to all of us starting a new chapter together, building a Hong Kong that is caring, open, and vibrant, and a Hong Kong that is full of hope, opportunities and harmony.”

He also promised to work to build on Hong Kong’s status as an international metropolis by expanding its international connectivity and creating a more favourable business environment.

Asked whether this means he will adopt a different approach to tackle the Covid pandemic, Lee stressed that he’ll strive to open Hong Kong up both to the world at large, and to the mainland.

“I’m very conscious of the need to make Hong Kong accessible to the world and also it is an important thing for Hong Kong to be able to resume normal travel with the mainland,” he said.

The CE-elect said he’ll start work immediately to form his new governing team, comprised of passionate and committed individuals who are capable and experienced, to work towards implementing his manifesto.