kakase/hk_gov_press_release huggingface dataset:
SCS encourages student interns of Shine Skills Centre to unleash their potential (with photos)
22.1.2019

The Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Joshua Law, today (January 22) presented certificates to students of the Shine Skills Centre of the Vocational Training Council who participated in a government internship scheme in recognition of their performance and efforts. Mr Law also encouraged them to unleash their potential at workplaces after graduation. Meeting with students of the Shine Skills Centre who have completed the internship, Mr Law said, "The students' attendance, conduct and performance have been very satisfactory during the internship period. The positive work attitude and dedication in learning of student interns have been highly praised by colleagues and mentors of participating departments. "It was the third year that the Civil Service Bureau (CSB) arranged placements in government departments for students of the Shine Skills Centre. The Shine Skills Centre (Kwun Tong) and the Civil Service College will become neighbours after the completion of the Kwun Tong comprehensive development project. This goes further to show how closely knit we have become." The CSB launched the internship scheme for students with disabilities in 2016 and doubled the number of placements from an average of 50 a year in the past two years to 100, so as to allow more young persons with disabilities to gain work experience in the Government, thereby strengthening their competitiveness before entering the workforce. With the expansion of the internship scheme, students of the Shine Skills Centre were also given opportunities to take up more diversified jobs, including event co-ordination and support, simple auditing tasks and topical searches. A total of 33 students, who were assigned to 21 government bureaux and departments for an eight-week internship in late 2018, received certificates today. Miss Helen Tang was an intern who assisted in checking and inputting traffic data at the Police. She said that with the guidance of her mentor and colleagues, she was soon able to discharge her duties independently, which has boosted her confidence. She added that the department's barrier-free access facilities helped her adapt to the working environment within a short period of time. She said she was grateful that the internship better equipped her to join the labour market in the future, and gave her an opportunity to learn to communicate and get along with others. Another intern, Mr Ken Poon, was attached to the CSB where he assisted in clerical work. Being a student of a design and desktop publishing programme at the Shine Skills Centre, he was also given an opportunity to design a Christmas card, on which he could apply what he had learnt in the Shine Skills Centre. He said that this precious internship experience enabled him to better understand his interest and career path. Many mentors praised the interns for their positive and responsible work attitude, as well as their initiative to learn new knowledge from their daily work.
SCS visits Efficiency Office (with photos)
10.1.2019

The Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Joshua Law, visited the Efficiency Office today (January 10) to learn about the work of front-line colleagues who provide the 1823 service, and meet with staff of various grades to exchange views on matters of concern. Accompanied by the Permanent Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Thomas Chow, Mr Law met with the Commissioner for Efficiency, Ms Olivia Nip, and the directorate staff to get an update on the Office's operation since its re-organisation last year, as well as its work in supporting the Innovation and Technology Bureau to promote the Government's agenda for innovation, technology adoption and public service improvement. Mr Law then toured the 1823 Centre in Kowloon Government Offices, where he learnt about the round-the-clock, one-stop service provided by front-line colleagues to the public, including answering general enquiries for a wide range of departments and receiving complaints and suggestions about any government service. 1823, the biggest contact centre in Hong Kong, handled more than 3.7 million calls and 520,000 non-voice contacts, including submissions via email, mobile application and web form, in 2018. Mr Law said he was pleased to learn that the 1823 Centre is barrier-free and the Office has been extending appropriate support to colleagues with disabilities, allowing them to unleash their full potential in the job. Before concluding his visit, Mr Law met with staff representatives of various grades at a tea gathering to listen to their views on matters that concerned them. He praised the colleagues for their commitment to providing citizen-centric services, and encouraged them to continue to enhance their efforts in the wider adoption of innovation and technology in government services, as well as in upgrading the quality and efficiency of public services in general.
SCS visits Architectural Services Department (with photos)
24.11.2020

The Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Patrick Nip, visited the Architectural Services Department (ArchSD) today (November 24) to learn more about the department's key planning projects and the construction progress of anti-epidemic projects as well as meet with its staff of various grades to exchange views on matters of concern. Accompanied by the Permanent Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung, Mr Nip first met with the Director of Architectural Services, Mrs Sylvia Lam, and the directorate staff to receive an update on the department's various areas of work and the challenges confronting them. Mr Nip then met with colleagues of different branches to learn more about their work including project management, architectural design and property services. The ArchSD is currently planning various government office building projects, including the Kwun Tong Composite Development Project. Apart from the Civil Service College, the project will also provide various community facilities for Kwun Tong residents. He learned that the ArchSD has been applying the Building Information Modelling technology in various works projects to enhance the design, construction, project management and asset management efficiency, and he was pleased to know that many of their projects had been awarded overseas and local architectural design awards. Mr Nip then received a briefing on various projects to combat the epidemic, such as the construction of a community treatment facility and temporary hospital at AsiaWorld-Expo as well as quarantine camps in different locations. The project teams have adopted various innovative construction techniques, such as the modular integrated construction method, so as to substantially reduce the construction time. Other anti-epidemic work includes conversion of existing buildings for quarantine purposes and preventive inspections of drainage systems for existing target government buildings. Mr Nip also met with staff representatives of various grades to exchange views on matters that concern them. He thanked colleagues for their contribution in fighting the epidemic, and praised them in particular for upholding their professionalism in carrying out the projects despite the time constraint so that various anti-epidemic facilities could be completed as soon as possible.
SCS visits Immigration Department (with photos)
29.10.2020

The Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Patrick Nip, visited the Immigration Department (ImmD) today (October 29) and met with its management and staff of various grades to learn more about their work and matters of concern. Accompanied by the Permanent Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung, Mr Nip first met with the Director of Immigration, Mr Au Ka-wang, and the directorate staff to get an update on the department's work in immigration control, visa policies, issuance of travel documents and law enforcement, as well as the challenges confronting them. Mr Nip then proceeded to the Travel Document Personalisation Centre, where he was briefed on the production process for Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) passports. He said he was pleased to learn that the ImmD launched the Next Generation Electronic Passport System in May last year, adopting the latest technology and advanced security features in the production of the new electronic HKSAR passport, thereby further strengthening its security. At present, 167 countries and territories have granted visa-free access or visa-on-arrival to HKSAR passport holders. Mr Nip also visited the Travel Documents and Nationality (Application) Section and the Travel Documents (Issue) Section, to learn about the ImmD's efforts to make use of enhanced technology to put in place various measures to further improve the application procedures of travel documents, including the Passport Collection Kiosk which will be put into service soon. The Passport Collection Kiosk initiative aims at offering greater convenience for members of the public and enhancing the work efficiency and service quality of the department, in addition to helping to maintain social distancing during the epidemic. Before concluding his visit, Mr Nip met with staff representatives of various grades to exchange views on matters that concerned them. He expressed appreciation for colleagues' devotion and commitment to cope with challenges during the epidemic, and encouraged them to continue to do their utmost to serve the public.
Statement by Civil Service Bureau
6.10.2020

In response to media enquiries today (October 6) about an earlier meeting of the Civil Service Bureau (CSB) with major civil service staff unions to listen to their views on the proposal about oath-taking by civil servants, a spokesman for the CSB made the following statement: The CSB reported to the Panel on Public Service of the Legislative Council on July 10 the progress of the study on introducing an oath-taking requirement on civil servants and put forward a proposal on the directions for implementation. The CSB met with the staff side representatives of the four civil service central consultative councils and the four major service-wide staff unions to listen to their views on the proposals in late September. At the meetings, the Secretary for the Civil Service gave the staff side representatives a clear explanation about various recommendations, including that the Bureau would issue a circular concerning the signing of declaration by civil service new recruits as soon as possible as well as the content of the circular. On reports which quoted a union representative's claim that the Secretary for the Civil Service had personally made a so-called "promise" in the meeting that an advance copy of the relevant CSB circular would be given to the four major service-wide staff unions, the spokesman said this was totally unfounded. The spokesman stressed that issuing advance copies of circulars to the staff sides of the central consultative council was in accordance and in line with the established procedure. The Government has all along attached importance to communication between the staff side and the management. There is a well-established mechanism to liaise with staff representatives through different channels and consult them on matters of staff concern and related policies and practices. Individual civil servants or staff associations/unions can also offer their views to respective heads of department or grade or the CSB through existing channels.
SCS on oath-taking by civil servants
25.9.2020

Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Patrick Nip, at a media session in the Legislative Council Complex today (September 25): Reporter: The civil servants ... (inaudible)? Are they breaching the national security law? So what are the penalties like? Does it also apply to current civil servants? Secretary for the Civil Service: The requirement for civil servants to take an oath or make a written declaration is basically a manifestation of their established responsibilities. So there is nothing new. These responsibilities are set out in the Basic Law Article 99 and the Civil Service Code. It is also consistent with the national security law, particularly Article 6. So we introduce this requirement, we hope that through this requirement there could be a manifestation of the civil service's responsibility to uphold the Basic Law and pledge allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and also enable colleagues to be more aware of this responsibility. We are now setting out the arrangements. Basically for those new recruits joining the Government on or after July 1 this year, we would make arrangement for them to make a written declaration, and this will be part of the conditions for their employment. For serving civil servants, we are following the established mechanism and in the process of consulting the major civil service staff unions and also our colleagues. And we would take into account all the comments, feedback received and then finalise the arrangements and make the promulgation when we are in a position to do so. (Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
SCS on Universal Community Testing Programme
13.9.2020

Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Patrick Nip, on the Universal Community Testing Programme at a media session after attending a television programme (September 13): Reporter: Would the scheme be rolled out again...(inaudible) in the fourth wave? And regarding the cost of this time, how much money is paid to Beijing, the Central Government...(inaudible)? Secretary for the Civil Service: This is a one-off universal community testing programme to help us understand the infection situation in the community and also to identify and isolate those infected, especially those asymptomatic cases, so as to help us end the current epidemic. In future, with the enhanced and increased testing capacity, I am sure that we will focus on target group testing or do rapid and large-scale testing when there are cluster outbreaks. That would be the strategy and approach. Of course, the Department of Health and the Hospital Authority will continue to do their epidemiological testing as they have been doing all along. Actually, since the beginning of this epidemic, more than one million testing had been conducted by the Hospital Authority and the Department of Health. As regards to the cost of the Universal Community Testing Programme, the Central People's Government provides us with the setting up of the lab, and the personnel that do the testing. That cost would be borne by the Central People's Government. The Hong Kong SAR Government basically would be responsible for the cost incurred in the setting up of the community testing centres, the honorarium paid to the healthcare staff and also the administrative support staff, the cost incurred in logistics, in supplies, in security, in cleansing and all that. As the scheme is still on going, we would report on the cost of this programme after the programme is finished. (Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
SCS on Universal Community Testing Programme
6.9.2020

Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Patrick Nip, on the Universal Community Testing Programme at a media session after attending a radio programme this morning (September 6): Reporter: So you said that we don't have a threshold for the figures to be representative, so could you explain why you say that, because if we don't give a clear target, how we can say that we have a general understanding of the situation? Secretary for the Civil Service: The purpose of the Universal Community Testing Programme is to identify as early as possible those who are infected in the community, especially those asymptomatic cases. So if through the Universal Community Testing Programme, we could identify as many as possible these cases, that would be better. And the second purpose is to enable those who wish to be tested, could be provided free COVID-19 testing service. So that's the purpose of the programme. This programme is voluntary. With these parametres, of course, we want as many as possible Hong Kong citizens to come forward to receive the test, and that would be helpful. But we would not set a target on the programme because I don't think it's realistic for us to do so. But no matter what, the programme would enable us to have some sort of reference value to understand the infection situation in the community and the number of asymptomatic cases in the community. That would provide useful data and information for us to control the epidemic and also to pave the way for normalising our activities and economic activities in the future. That's basically the purpose of the programme. Thank you very much. (Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
SCS encourages university students to join AO grade (with photos)
31.8.2020

The Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Patrick Nip, today (August 31) met with university students participating in the Administrative Service Summer Internship Programme to learn about their internship experience. He encouraged them to apply for the Administrative Officer (AO) Grade after graduation. Mr Nip said that the Administrative Service Summer Internship Programme has been conducted for years. This year, the number of placements has increased to a record high of 85, offering more opportunities for university students who wish to pursue an AO career to better understand the work of AOs and get hands-on experience of working in the Government, thereby facilitating their future career planning. "AOs play a key role in the Government. They are regularly posted to different bureaux and departments to undertake different areas of work in the Government, including assisting in the formulation of public policies, managing the operations of departments, and co-ordinating and monitoring the implementation of programmes. In addition to the ever-changing social environment in recent years, Hong Kong has been facing unprecedented challenges in particular over the past year. Nevertheless, civil servants, especially AOs, have always played a pivotal role in the Government and in taking forward various government policies," Mr Nip said. "Every year we see keen competition in the AO recruitment exercise. We received over 12 000 applications last year and finally appointed around 30 AOs. The new round of the AO recruitment exercise will commence in mid-September. I encourage students who are committed to serving the community and the public to actively consider applying for government jobs, including the post of AO, to contribute to society with their knowledge, wisdom and ability." This year, a total of 85 Hong Kong students studying in local and non-local universities have been posted to 21 government bureaux and departments, taking up duties similar in nature to those of AOs. The participants generally hold the view that the internship programme has enabled them to get hands-on working experience with serving AOs, to see for themselves the Government's operation and the diversity of work of AOs, and to gain a more in-depth understanding of public administration.
Government statement on Universal Community Testing Programme
29.8.2020

On media reports today (August 29) that the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Patrick Nip, after attending a radio programme, did not respond to the question why the Government launched the Universal Community Testing Programme (UCTP) but deferred the Legislative Council Election, a spokesman for the Civil Service Bureau stressed that no arrangements had been made for Mr Nip to meet the media after the radio programme. Moreover, Mr Nip had recently responded to this question on various occasions, including the press conference on the UCTP yesterday, clearly stating that the UCTP and the election cannot be compared. At the press conference yesterday, Mr Nip said the Chief Executive earlier had explained in details that the Special Administrative Region Government deferred the Legislative Council Election by one year to protect public safety and public health under the epidemic, and to ensure that the election is conducted openly and fairly. And in responding to media questions on the relation between the election and the UCTP, and the fight against the virus, the Government had already pointed out that the UCTP is one of the important measures in fighting the epidemic. The UCTP will be conducted between seven and 14 days, different from the election which is completed in one day. Moreover, the UCTP adopts an online booking arrangement which can effectively avoid the gathering of crowds or queues outside the community testing centres. The UCTP is to identity asymptomatic COVID-19 patients in the community in order to cut the transmission chain. The spokesman appealed to members of the public to join the UCTP to protect oneself and others.
SCS visits monitoring centre of OGCIO (with photos)
20.7.2020

The Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Patrick Nip, visited the monitoring centre of the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) at the Customs Headquarters Building in North Point today (July 20) to give encouragement to colleagues participating in anti-epidemic work. Accompanied by the Commissioner of Customs and Excise, Mr Hermes Tang, and the Deputy Government Chief Information Officer, Mr Tony Wong, Mr Nip was briefed on the use of the multi-tech approach in monitoring persons under home quarantine. For instance, electronic wristbands and the "StayHomeSafe" mobile app, coupled with geo-fencing technology, artificial intelligence and big data analytics technologies, are being used to ascertain that persons under home quarantine are staying at their dwelling places. Mr Nip also chatted with colleagues on duty at the centre to know more about their work, including how they support persons under home quarantine to activate and use the "StayHomeSafe" mobile app, and how they handle their enquiries on home quarantine. He said he was pleased to know that apart from OGCIO colleagues, some serving and retired civil servants also also helping out at the centre as volunteers, with the serving civil servants taking up the volunteer work at the monitoring centre after their own work in order to help fight against the epidemic. Mr Nip said, "The Government has all along been closely monitoring the epidemic situation in order to respond promptly. In view of the severity of the local epidemic situation, the Government needs to take further measures to significantly reduce the flow of people and social contacts to stop COVID-19 from further spreading in the community. As such, the Government has suspended non-emergency and non-essential services starting from today to enable colleagues to work from home, tentatively for one week. We will closely monitor the epidemic situation and review the arrangement in due course. "Under the special work arrangement, many colleagues still have to work as usual to provide emergency and essential public services. They include colleagues from the disciplined services as well as other front-line colleagues and colleagues involved in anti-epidemic work from various departments. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to them for their dedication to duties and hard work amid the epidemic."