In an exclusive interview with The Standard, Zeman said Hong Kong should build more starter flats that can appeal to first-time home buyers to ease desperation among some people for their own flats.

The 72-year-old "Father of Lan Kwai Fong" said solving the housing shortage is his priority, which will give the people of Hong Kong hope and help solve the city's deep-rooted conflicts.

Zeman is running for one of 40 seats in the Legco's Election Committee constituency.

Describing housing as a major problem in Hong Kong, Zeman said he understood why people living in a subdivided flat or cage home think they have no future in Hong Kong.

He said giving a bigger starter home to people who do not or cannot own a home can get them into the market.

"Otherwise, if you're not in the market, the market just runs away from you. You never have a chance and you see no future for yourself."

A report by the Legislative Council secretariat's research office in March showed Hong Kong's home ownership ratio rebounded to 51.2 percent in late 2020 from 49.8 percent - or 1.3 million residents - in 2019, but it is still far below the 60 percent seen in affluent economies.

The proportion of homeowners aged below 35 plunged from 22 percent in 1997 to just 7.6 percent in 2019.

But Zeman, whose Lan Kwai Fong Group recently joined the property market with Far East Consortium International to codevelop a 70,000 square-foot plot in Sai Kung for housing after paying a land premium of HK$370 million, said the housing problem is "fixable" by changing the current frustrating regulations.

"Don't make it so difficult to build homes," he said.

New building methods such as the modular integrated construction method, whereby free-standing integrated modules are manufactured and then transported to site for installation, should also be used to speed up the construction process.

When asked what other bills and aspects he is interested in, Zeman said: "I don't want to say one thing, it's not just one thing. It's a long list of things."

"The most important thing is to give people hope."

Born in southern Germany, Zeman was raised in Canada during the 1950s and 60s and moved to Hong Kong afterwards. He swapped his Canadian citizenship for a Chinese passport in 2008.

Speaking on article 23 of the Basic Law that necessitates an anti-subversion law, Zeman said it is simply a security bill. "The more laws that can protect you and your future when you're married and have kids and you want protections for your kids, the better off you are."

He also said he is never worried about the national security law as he does not break the law.

He also said he will "do what he believes in" when it comes to controversial bills, as he is representing the people.

"If I am elected, if I am in Legco and there are some controversial bills that I don't believe in, I will find out why I don't believe in it and I'll bring it out," he said.

While friends with every political party, Zeman said he will not join any and remain independent.

"I prefer to be a loner, to be on my own, which I have always been."