Universally known as “CY”, the new chief executive of Hong Kong has mismatched shoulders. One is stronger than the other, a relic of childhood labour lugging around bags of plastic flowers for his mother, who worked on a factory production line.
Leung Chunying, 57, was chosen by the city state’s elite electoral college in April. His vow to tackle a wealth gap in Hong Kong and create a “more righteous and more progressive society” has unnerved Hong Kong’s powerful tycoons.
After studying surveying at Hong Kong University, he spent a spell in the mid-Seventies at Bristol Polytechnic.
Mr Leung faces a delicate task in tightening financial regulation at a time when Hong Kong’s ethics are under fire. His every move will be watched like a hawk in a city with a $243 billion economy.