Mo. lawmaker wants tax on violent video games

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Republican lawmaker from rural Missouri bucked her party’s anti-tax bent on Tuesday and called for a sales tax on violent video games in response to a deadly Connecticut school shooting.

Rep. Diane Franklin, of Camdenton, said the proposed 1 percent sales tax would help pay for mental health programs and law enforcement measures aimed at preventing mass shootings. The tax would be levied on video games rated “teen,” ”mature” and “adult-only” by the Entertainment Software Rating Board, the organization in charge of rating video games.

The rating board classifies games as “teen” if they contain violence, suggestive themes and crude humor. The popular music game “Guitar Hero” has a teen rating and would be taxed under Franklin’s plan. Another popular title, “Call of Duty,” has a mature rating and also would be subject to the sales tax. “Mature” games are deemed suitable for people 17 and older and may contain intense violence and gore.

“History shows there is a mental health component to these shootings,” Franklin said, referring to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that killed 20 students and six adults in Newtown, Conn., and the Aurora, Colo., movie theater shooting that left 14 dead.

Franklin’s plan is the latest in a string of measures proposed in response to recent mass shootings. Another Missouri Republican has filed a measure that would allow teachers to carry guns in the classroom. On the national level, Vice President Joe Biden is leading an effort to reduce gun violence and is expected to reveal recommendations Wednesday that include steps to improve school safety and mental health care, as well as address violence in entertainment and video games.

Franklin’s proposal already faces opposition from the Entertainment Software Association, which represents companies that publish computer and video games.

“Taxing First Amendment protected speech based on its content is not only wrong, but will end up costing Missouri taxpayers,” the association said in a written statement.

Tax increases typically are a hard sell in Missouri. This past November, voters rejected a proposed tobacco tax increase for the third time in a decade, choosing instead to leave the state’s cigarette tax at the lowest level in the nation. Republican legislative leaders and Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon both have taken stands against tax increases.

Other proposals to tax violent video games failed in Oklahoma in 2012 and New Mexico in 2008. In Oklahoma, Republican state Rep. William Fourkiller had proposed a violent video games tax to combat childhood obesity and school bullying, but his plan failed to make it out of a committee.

Other non-tax efforts to curb the effect of violent video games also have fallen short. U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W. Va., put forward a measure last year for the study of the impact of violent video games on children, but it failed. A California law banning the sale of violent games to minors was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2011.

The Entertainment Merchant’s Association sent a letter to Biden last week urging him to look elsewhere when it comes to his plans on gun violence.

“Make no mistake: blaming movies and video games is an attempt to distract the attention of the public and the media from meaningful action that will keep our children safer,” wrote the merchant’s association, a lobbying group for the home entertainment industry.

Others, however, have criticized the video game industry and its role in mass shootings.

“There exists in this country a callous, corrupt and corrupting shadow industry that sells, and sows, violence against its own people,” National Rifle Association Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre said at a December news conference.

Franklin said she hopes her bill will “start a discussion” on the relationship between violent games and mental illness. Franklin, who has a granddaughter in kindergarten, added she is concerned about the safety of schools and universities in the state.

In 2008, there were 298 million video games sold in the U.S., generating $ 11.7 billion in revenue. Six of the 10 best-selling games included violence, and four carried a “mature” rating.

Franklin’s bill was formally introduced Monday and must be referred and approved by a committee before being considered on the House floor.

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Simon Cowell Signs The X Factor's Fifth Harmony

TV Watch
People Exclusive

By Patrick Gomez

01/17/2013 at 09:00 AM EST

Simon Cowell (center) and Fifth Harmony

Scott Kirkland/Picturegroup

Fifth Harmony and One Direction have a lot in common.

Both groups auditioned as five individuals before being put together by The X Factor mentors. Both groups went on to place third on their seasons. And, now, both groups have been signed by their X Factor mentor Simon Cowell.

"I knew from the girls' first performance at the judges' homes that we'd done the right thing," Cowell, in an exclusive statement, tells PEOPLE of Fifth Harmony. "The chemistry between the girls both on stage and off is fantastic, and they are incredibly talented."

Fifth Harmony's Ally Brooke, 19, Camila Cabello, 15, Normani Hamilton, 16, Dinah Jane Hansen, 15, and Lauren Jauregui, 16, developed a loyal fan base of "Harmonizers" during the Fox reality show's second season and have now signed a recording deal with Cowell's Syco Music and fellow X Factor mentor L.A. Reid's Epic Records.

"The fact that we're being given the opportunity to make music that we want feels like a dream we never want to wake up from. I literally have to pinch myself," says Cabello, who is known to fans for her signature hair bows.

The group's debut album will be executive produced by Julian Bunetta (whose credits include One Direction, Boys II Men and Leona Lewis), but the girls seem most excited to be reunited with each other in the recording studio after being apart for the holidays.

"I am going to have a blast working with my girls," Brooke says. "I promise we are going to bring it."

One of Fifth Harmony's most memorable performances was a cover of Ellie Goulding's "Anything Can Happen" – and how true that is, given what has taken place for a group of girls who, less than a year ago, were total strangers.

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Large study confirms flu vaccine safe in pregnancy

NEW YORK (AP) — A large study offers reassuring news for pregnant women: It's safe to get a flu shot.

The research found no evidence that the vaccine increases the risk of losing a fetus, and may prevent some deaths. Getting the flu while pregnant makes fetal death more likely, the Norwegian research showed.

The flu vaccine has long been considered safe for pregnant women and their fetus. U.S. health officials began recommending flu shots for them more than five decades ago, following a higher death rate in pregnant women during a flu pandemic in the late 1950s.

But the study is perhaps the largest look at the safety and value of flu vaccination during pregnancy, experts say.

"This is the kind of information we need to provide our patients when discussing that flu vaccine is important for everyone, particularly for pregnant women," said Dr. Geeta Swamy, a researcher who studies vaccines and pregnant women at Duke University Medical Center.

The study was released by the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday as the United States and Europe suffer through an early and intense flu season. A U.S. obstetricians group this week reminded members that it's not too late for their pregnant patients to get vaccinated.

The new study was led by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. It tracked pregnancies in Norway in 2009 and 2010 during an international epidemic of a new swine flu strain.

Before 2009, pregnant women in Norway were not routinely advised to get flu shots. But during the pandemic, vaccinations against the new strain were recommended for those in their second or third trimester.

The study focused on more than 113,000 pregnancies. Of those, 492 ended in the death of the fetus. The researchers calculated that the risk of fetal death was nearly twice as high for women who weren't vaccinated as it was in vaccinated mothers.

U.S. flu vaccination rates for pregnant women grew in the wake of the 2009 swine flu pandemic, from less than 15 percent to about 50 percent. But health officials say those rates need to be higher to protect newborns as well. Infants can't be vaccinated until 6 months, but studies have shown they pick up some protection if their mothers got the annual shot, experts say.

Because some drugs and vaccines can be harmful to a fetus, there is a long-standing concern about giving any medicine to a pregnant woman, experts acknowledged. But this study should ease any worries about the flu shot, said Dr. Denise Jamieson of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"The vaccine is safe," she said.

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Online:

Medical journal: http://www.nejm.org

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Wall Street hits five-year high at open on data, eBay

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks hit a five-year high at the open on Thursday after better-than-expected results from online marketplace eBay and as data showed first-time claims for unemployment benefits dropped to a five-year low.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> gained 31.80 points, or 0.24 percent, to 13,543.03. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> gained 3.67 points, or 0.25 percent, to 1,476.30. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> gained 12.66 points, or 0.41 percent, to 3,130.20.

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Nick Zieminski)

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IHT Rendezvous: What to See in 2013

This time of year, museums around the world herald their major exhibitions. Here is a selection of those opening in the first half of 2013 that promise food for thought and feasts for the eyes, listed in the order in which they will open their doors.

Montreal Peru: Kingdoms of the Sun and Moon
An array of 370 paintings, sculptures, gold and silver ornaments, photographs and videos, covering 3,000 years, from the Pre-Columbian era to the Indigenous movements. Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Feb. 2-June 16.

New York Gutai: Splendid Playground
They hailed the beauty of damaged or destroyed works of art. For two decades (1954-’72), the Japanese collective’s paintings, performances, installations, sound, kinetic and light art, and experimental film defied the social and artistic conventions of the postwar years. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Feb. 15-May 8.

Brussels Neo Rauch: The Obsession of the Demiurge: Selected Works, 1993-2012 A realistic yet surrealistic visual idiom: Mr. Rauch’s “enigmas without answers” betray the influence of comic strips and Pop Art. On view, about 70 puzzling paintings and drawings created since 1993. Bozar. Feb. 20-May 19.

London Barocci: Brilliance and Grace Discover Federico Barocci (1535-1612), a painter of altarpieces and a few easel works, patronized by the Pope, the emperor and the king of Spain in his day but overlooked in later centuries. Fourteen altarpieces, four portraits, drawings and oil sketches The National Gallery. Feb. 27-May 19.

Tokyo Rubens: Inspired by Italy and Established in Antwerp
After eight years in Italy (1600-08), studying Titian, Caravaggio and Carracci, Rubens (1577-1640) returned to Antwerp to run a large studio. On display: works from his Italian days, works in collaboration with other masters and works created in his studio under his supervision. Bunkamura Museum. March 9-April 21.

Madrid El Labrador Small floral still lifes and bodegónes, or depictions of food and kitchen implements, by Juan Fernández, a Spanish painter of the first half of the 17th century, better known as El Labrador, whose reputation went well beyond Spanish borders. Museo del Prado. March 11-June 16.

Paris Eugène Boudin: Au Fil de ses Voyages A long-overdue homage to Boudin (1824-98), the “king of skies,” according to Corot. Boudin’s outdoor, light-filled scenes painted sur le motif, contributed to the dawn of Impressionism. In the display, 60 oils, watercolors and drawings. Musée Jacquemart-André. March 22-July 22.

Madrid Dal­í After Paris, the paintings, drawings, sculptures and films by the provocative and imaginative master of showmanship travel to Madrid. Museo Reina Sofí­a. April 24-Sept. 2.

Tokyo All You Need Is Love: From Chagall to Kusama and Hatsune Love, modern and diverse, inspires 100 works by about 50 international artists − Constable, Rodin, Dalí­, Chagall, Kusama, Othoniel, Shilpa Gupta and Zhang Xiaogang, among many others. Miku Mori Art Museum. April 26-Sept. 1.

Canberra Turner From the Tate: The Making of a Master
The donation to the British nation by Turner (1775-1851) of the paintings exhibited in his lifetime were supplemented by the contents of his house and studio after his death. About 40 oils and 70 works on paper, from large watercolors to intimate sketches. National Gallery of Australia. June 1-Sept. 8.

Kobe, Japan A History of Impressionism: Great French Paintings From the Clark More than 70 paintings that Sterling and Francine Clark acquired while living in Paris. The 21 early Renoirs are complemented by paintings by Monet, Degas, Manet, Pissarro and Sisley. Next stop: Shanghai.Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art. June 8-Sept. 1.

Moscow Pre-Raphaelites Recently seen in London and Washington, a survey of the creativity of the rebellious 19th-century brotherhood that admired art created before Raphael. On show: paintings, sculptures, photographs as well as textiles, stained glass and furniture. The State Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. June 10-Sept. 30.

London Ibrahim El-Salahi: A Visionary Modernist
About 100 paintings and drawings by the Sudanese artist (born 1930). Proof of the fruitful integration of traditional African, Arab and Islamic visual sources. Tate Modern. July 3-Sept. 22.

To find out more about exhibitions in cities you’ll be traveling to this season, check the IHT’s interactive Global Arts Guide.

What museum and gallery shows are you looking forward to this year? Tell us in the comments space below.

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Missouri Lawmaker Wants Violent Video Games Taxed

A rural Missouri lawmaker wants her state to tax certain video games to help curb gun violence. The Associated Press reports state Rep. Diane Franklin, R-Camdenton, believes a 1 percent sales tax on video games rated teen, mature and adults only would help finance mental health programs aimed at reducing gun violence such as the recent mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

What does the legislation propose?

House Bill 157 proposes to create “an excise tax based on the gross receipts or gross proceeds of each sale” of video games rated by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). The tax also involves the “storage, use or other consumption” of violent video games in Missouri including “tangible personal property.” This means the tax could extend to memorabilia derived from the games such as toys, clothing and video game accessories.

How does the legislation hope to enhance public safety?

The law hopes to procure “new and additional funding for treatment of mental health conditions associated with exposure to violent video games… .” The revenue from the tax cannot be used to replace existing revenue already in place. Franklin deems the legislation “necessary for the immediate preservation of the public health, welfare, peace and safety.” Therefore, if the legislation passes it will go into effect immediately. There is no mention in the legislation as to how much revenue should be generated, nor does it say whether the sales tax is just on new merchandise as opposed to used games on the secondary market.

Have similar laws been considered before?

A similar proposal was struck down in mid-February in Oklahoma. Democrat William Fourkiller crafted legislation in 2012 that is very similar to Franklin’s idea in Missouri. A subcommittee struck down the bill by a 6-5 margin. Fourkiller, in defending the law , said it wasn’t a “magic bullet” but that Oklahoma had “to start somewhere” to curb childhood violence. Oklahoma also would have taxed ESRB teen, mature and adults only games at a rate of 1 percent.

Does the Missouri law have a chance to pass?

CNN notes a federal appeals court made a ruling in 2003 that video games are free speech protected by the First Amendment. Ironically, it was a federal case stemming from St. Louis County, Mo., that created the precedent for video games as free speech. Senior U.S. District Judge Stephen Limbaugh’s decision was reversed by an appellate panel. The ruling came shortly after the state of Washington banned the sale of certain video games to children under the age of 17. Gamasutra reveals New Mexico also tried, and failed, to pass a similar law in 2008.

What are Franklin’s credentials as they relate to the proposed bill?

Franklin was first elected in 2010 from Camdenton. She is a mother of two sons and served on Camdenton School Board from 1993 to 1999. She sits on the House Appropriations-Education committee. Franklin is a third-generation small business owner and comes from a farming family. Missouri Republicans currently have a veto-proof supermajority in the General Assembly. Camdenton is a small city of around 3,700 people near Lake of the Ozarks in central Missouri.

William Browning is a research librarian specializing in U.S. politics.

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American Idol Judges Predict a Girl Will Win This Season

Fans, keep your eyes on the ladies during the new season of American idol. That's the advice from several of the show's judges, who think a woman will win the singing competition this year.

"Girls, do not disappoint the Dawg. I think it's the girls' year," Randy Jackson tells PEOPLE of the new crop of contestants on the reality show, which premieres Wednesday (8 p.m. ET) on Fox.

"There are some talented boys, but I must say, I think the girls could really win one," he adds. "We haven't had a girl winner in so long."

Of course, some of the female Idol winners went on to have some of the most successful careers, including country superstar Carrie Underwood and the first-ever Idol winner, Kelly Clarkson.

New judge Nicki Minaj agrees that the women contestants really bring their A-game to the show. "The girls are exceptional. I mean, a girl will definitely win this year, I think," she says.

Minaj finds the ladies are "more seasoned, more poised, more professional" – and some of them combine that maturity with a great voice.

According to Keith Urban, the level of talent was so high overall this season that the judges struggled to figure out who should be cut.

"All four of us had the conversation, 'What are we looking for?' " he said. "Because we can't send two million people to Hollywood."

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ER visits tied to energy drinks double since 2007

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A new government survey suggests the number of people seeking emergency treatment after consuming energy drinks has doubled nationwide during the past four years, the same period in which the supercharged drink industry has surged in popularity in convenience stores, bars and on college campuses.

From 2007 to 2011, the government estimates the number of emergency room visits involving the neon-labeled beverages shot up from about 10,000 to more than 20,000. Most of those cases involved teens or young adults, according to a survey of the nation's hospitals released late last week by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

The report doesn't specify which symptoms brought people to the emergency room but calls energy drink consumption a "rising public health problem" that can cause insomnia, nervousness, headache, fast heartbeat and seizures that are severe enough to require emergency care.

Several emergency physicians said they had seen a clear uptick in the number of patients suffering from irregular heartbeats, anxiety and heart attacks who said they had recently downed an energy drink.

More than half of the patients considered in the survey who wound up in the emergency room told doctors they had downed only energy drinks. In 2011, about 42 percent of the cases involved energy drinks in combination with alcohol or drugs, such as the stimulants Adderall or Ritalin.

"A lot of people don't realize the strength of these things. I had someone come in recently who had drunk three energy drinks in an hour, which is the equivalent of 15 cups of coffee," said Howard Mell, an emergency physician in the suburbs of Cleveland, who serves as a spokesman for the American College of Emergency Physicians. "Essentially he gave himself a stress test and thankfully he passed. But if he had a weak heart or suffered from coronary disease and didn't know it, this could have precipitated very bad things."

The findings came as concerns over energy drinks have intensified following reports last fall of 18 deaths possibly tied to the drinks — including a 14-year-old Maryland girl who died after drinking two large cans of Monster Energy drinks. Monster does not believe its products were responsible for the death.

Two senators are calling for the Food and Drug Administration to investigate safety concerns about energy drinks and their ingredients.

The energy drink industry says its drinks are safe and there is no proof linking its products to the adverse reactions.

Late last year, the FDA asked the U.S. Health and Human Services to update the figures its substance abuse research arm compiles about emergency room visits tied to energy drinks.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's survey was based on responses it receives from about 230 hospitals each year, a representative sample of about 5 percent of emergency departments nationwide. The agency then uses those responses to estimate the number of energy drink-related emergency department visits nationwide.

The more than 20,000 cases estimated for 2011 represent a small portion of the annual 136 million emergency room visits tracked by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The FDA said it was considering the findings and pressing for more details as it undertakes a broad review of the safety of energy drinks and related ingredients this spring.

"We will examine this additional information ... as a part of our ongoing investigation into potential safety issues surrounding the use of energy-drink products," FDA spokeswoman Shelly Burgess said in a statement.

Beverage manufacturers fired back at the survey, saying the statistics were misleading and taken out of context.

"This report does not share information about the overall health of those who may have consumed energy drinks, or what symptoms brought them to the ER in the first place," the American Beverage Association said in a statement. "There is no basis by which to understand the overall caffeine intake of any of these individuals — from all sources."

Energy drinks remain a small part of the carbonated soft drinks market, representing only 3.3 percent of sales volume, according to the industry tracker Beverage Digest. Even as soda consumption has flagged in recent years, energy drinks sales are growing rapidly.

In 2011, sales volume for energy drinks rose by almost 17 percent, with the top three companies — Monster, Red Bull and Rockstar — each logging double-digit gains, Beverage Digest found. The drinks are often marketed at sporting events that are popular among younger people such as surfing and skateboarding.

From 2007 to 2011, the most recent year for which data was available, people from 18 to 25 were the most common age group seeking emergency treatment for energy drink-related reactions, the report found.

"We were really concerned to find that in four years the number of emergency department visits almost doubled, and these drinks are largely marketed to younger people," said Al Woodward, a senior statistical analyst with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration who worked on the report.

Emergency physician Steve Sun said he had seen an increase in such cases at the Catholic hospital where he works on the edge of San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.

"I saw one young man who had mixed energy drinks with alcohol and we had to admit him to the hospital because he was so dehydrated he had renal failure," Sun said. "Because he was young he did well in the hospital, but if another patient had had underlying coronary artery disease, it could have led to a heart attack."

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Follow Garance Burke on Twitter at http://twitter.com/garanceburke

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Wall Street dips at open, Boeing drags

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell off five-year highs on Wednesday as concerns about global economic growth offset strong bank results and shares of Boeing weighed on the Dow after two Japanese airlines grounded their Dreamliner fleets.

Goldman Sachs shares hit an 18-month high as its earnings nearly tripled on increased revenue from dealmaking and lower compensation expenses, while JPMorgan Chase said fourth-quarter net income jumped 53 percent and earnings for 2012 set a record.

JPMorgan shares were last down 0.8 percent at $46 and Goldman added 2 percent to $138.26.

Concern about global economic growth was weighing on the markets, said Peter Jankovskis, co-chief investment officer at OakBrook Investments in Lisle, Illinois.

A slow economic recovery in developed nations is holding back the global economy, the World Bank said on Tuesday, as it sharply scaled back its forecast for world growth in 2013 to 2.4 percent from an earlier forecast of 3.0 percent.

Shares of Dow component Boeing fell 3.5 percent to $74.25 on concerns about the safety of its new Dreamliner passenger jets. Japan's two leading airlines grounded their fleets of 787s after an emergency landing, adding to safety concerns triggered by a ream of recent incidents.

"It's certainly going to pull averages down, given Boeing's large market cap, but I don't see it as having broader market implications," Jankovskis said.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> fell 61.79 points or 0.46 percent, to 13,473.1, the S&P 500 <.spx> lost 4.39 points or 0.3 percent, to 1,467.95 and the Nasdaq Composite <.ixic> dropped 2.72 points or 0.09 percent, to 3,108.06.

Losses on Nasdaq were limited by gains in Apple shares, which were up 2 percent at $495.75.

Talks to take Dell Inc private were at an advanced stage, with at least four major banks lined up to provide financing, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Shares fell 3.6 percent to $12.69 after jumping more than 21 percent over the past two sessions.

U.S. consumer prices were flat in December, pointing to muted inflation pressures that should give the Federal Reserve room to prop up the economy by staying on its ultra-easy monetary policy path.

(Editing by Bernadette Baum)

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Leung Chun-ying, Hong Kong Leader, Pledges to Ease Housing Shortage

Hong Kong’s embattled chief executive used his first policy address on Wednesday to outline a series of populist proposals to try to alleviate the severe housing shortages and air pollution that have been bedeviling the city.

The chief executive, Leung Chun-ying, who took office in July and has already weathered one legislative vote of no confidence, one vote to start an impeachment process and a series of large street protests, pledged to help produce 100,000 units of housing over the next five years by streamlining approvals, opening up undeveloped lands for housing and even tapping rock caverns and underground spaces for development.

His address came in the wake of a steadily increasing drumbeat of criticism over his administration, centering on his perceived close ties to the Chinese leadership and his actions during his election campaign. During the race, he concealed the fact that he had expanded his $64 million home without receiving government planning permission, while at the same time criticizing his opponent for similar transgressions, prompting charges of hypocrisy.

Mr. Leung has already taken steps to curtail housing speculation by imposing steep taxes on short-term real estate purchases by anyone who is not a permanent Hong Kong resident. Despite a moderation in apartment prices, demand for housing remains intense, he said.

“Many families have to move into smaller or older flats, or even factory buildings,” he said. “Cramped living space in cage homes, cubicle apartments and subdivided flats has become the reluctant choice for tens of thousands of Hong Kong people.”

Mr. Leung also promised to reduce air pollution, notably through the retirement of diesel trucks. He said his government would offer $1.29 billion in payments to the owners of more than 80,000 old, heavily polluting trucks, who will be required to retire them or replace them with new models.

The plan will reduce roadside emissions of particulates 80 percent and emissions of smog-causing nitrogen oxides 30 percent, the government said.

While cars tend to draw more attention than trucks as pollution sources because of their greater numbers, American air pollution researchers working in Asia have found that the diesel engines in trucks and buses are a far bigger threat. They account for over 90 percent of vehicular emissions of particulates and nitrogen oxides in mainland China, studies there have found. Some studies have also found that diesel exhaust is carcinogenic, but this aspect of Chinese air pollution has been studied less.

In his speech on Wednesday, Mr. Leung tried to change the political narrative by addressing the bread-and-butter concerns of the residents of Hong Kong, where an influx of money, much of it from the Chinese mainland, has led to yawning wealth disparities.

“While Hong Kong is a generally affluent society, there are still many people who live a hand-to-mouth existence,” he said. “Public resources should be devoted to those who cannot provide for themselves.”

Large-scale developments in Hong Kong take 10 to 20 years to approve and build because they involve considerable public consultation, elaborate engineering to adapt to the challenges of building on the city’s steep slopes, and sometimes the construction of additional subway stops. Mr. Leung cautioned in his speech that his suggested measures might not bring quick relief from the city’s housing shortage.

Teenagers and people in their 20s have become increasingly active in the past year in street protests that previously had more middle-aged demonstrators, and Mr. Leung tried to seek the support of the city’s young people. They face higher unemployment than previous generations and more worries about housing affordability. But they also tend to be sympathetic to environmental concerns about encroachment on the city’s many hillside parks, which real estate developers regard as a source of delay.

“Our young people should recognize that the planning proposals and development options under discussion today are intended to address their future needs,” Mr. Leung said. “It is all too easy for the government to sidestep the problem, but it is today’s young people who will have to bear the adverse consequences in the future.”

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