In late 2002, former Chinese premier Zhu Rongji visited Hong Kong and sought to put steel in the spine of the city’s establishment that was floundering under an economic slump and a ballooning deficit. “If you issue 50-year long-term Hong Kong bonds on the mainland, I will be the first in line to buy them. His show of unreserved confidence lifted their spirits, Tsang said of the former premier who died at age 97. “Visiting Hong Kong in person, he galvanised our confidence in combating fiscal deficits, high unemployment, and widespread negative equity, that prevailed at that time,” he recalled. “His candid and inspiring words continue to resonate in the hearts of many people in Hong Kong.”