First drill under &quot;government-wide mobilisation&quot; level after its establishment concludes successfully
16.2.2023

The Government formulated a new "government-wide mobilisation" level to further strengthen its emergency response capability. Around 10 000 staff members from 77 bureaux/departments (B/Ds) participated in the first drill under the "government-wide mobilisation" level after its introduction at various locations today (February 16). Codenamed "Exercise Touchdown I", the drill aims to test the ability of B/Ds to mobilise staff promptly in response to major incidents when the "government-wide mobilisation" level is initiated. The Chief Executive in the 2022 Policy Address announced the enhancement of the existing mobilisation protocol by introducing a "government-wide mobilisation" level, under which a list of designated personnel from various departments will be drawn up in advance to ensure that civil servants can be mobilised promptly as the basis for a quick response unit (QRU) so as to provide immediate manpower support and auxiliary teams during incidents or major crises requiring considerable manpower support. The Civil Service Bureau (CSB) had devised and promulgated to B/Ds implementation details of the "government-wide mobilisation" level in December last year, while different B/Ds had drawn up rosters of designated personnel as required to ensure that the Government can mobilise staff promptly from various departments to form a QRU to strengthen its responsiveness and efficiency. The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, and the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung, inspected the situation of the field operation drill at the North Point Community Hall and listened to the views of the participating personnel. Mr Lee said that introducing the "government-wide mobilisation" level to the existing mobilisation protocol is an important measure to further improve governance, improve the systemic resilience and enhance the Government's emergency response capabilities. The Government must maintain a sense of crisis in daily work and devise response plans for deployment well in advance for major and sudden incidents. In adverse situations, the senior echelon must intervene early and co-ordinate, such that the Government will be ready to promptly mobilise a large amount of manpower across departments when necessary, and the Government's resilience, efficiency and flexibility in facing major incidents could be enhanced. Mr Lee expressed his gratitude to the team and colleagues for making full preparations for the drill, making the process smooth, and ensuring that all participating units are familiar with the process and arrangements for activating the "government-wide mobilisation" level. He pointed out that the civil service should always uphold the core mission of serving the public. When there is a need to initiate the "government-wide mobilisation" level in future, they will stay true to their aspirations and act in accordance with the enhanced mobilisation protocol, courageously face challenges and crises with the synergy of one plus one is greater than two. Mrs Yeung said the CSB will continue to conduct regular drills in the future to improve the mobility and responsiveness of the civil service, and cultivate flexibility and efficiency in the organisational culture. The drill simulated a scenario in which Hong Kong would be significantly affected by a tsunami in the neighbouring waters, which is likely to result in serious flooding of low-lying areas, and a large number of residents would need to be evacuated to higher ground in a short time. There was a need to promptly mobilise staff across departments to form a QRU to assist in evacuating the affected residents to temporary shelters immediately and arranging for distribution of various supplies and resources. After being briefed on the situation by the Home Affairs and Youth Bureau, the Chief Executive initiated the drill under the "government-wide mobilisation" level in person while the CSB immediately requested all B/Ds to mobilise staff. The Emergency Monitoring and Support Centre located in the Central Government Offices was also activated to monitor the situation. Unlike exercises conducted for specific incidents, the purpose of the drill is to test the departments' capabilities in internal communication and prompt mobilisation of staff to form a QRU, and the focus rests on the effectiveness of communication channels and the readiness of civil servants in emergency call-outs. This drill and future ones of the same nature will not replace the exercises conducted under other contingency or rescue plans. In the drill, all B/Ds needed to inform around 10 000 designated personnel to be on standby. Twenty-six B/Ds participated in field operation drill. About 300 staff members from six departments had to arrive at a designated location, the North Point Community Hall, within a specified time, to simulate receiving a pre-operation briefing. Meanwhile, another 600 staff members from 20 B/Ds had to assemble at a designated location arranged by respective B/Ds within a specified time for briefings. The Hong Kong Police Force and the Government Logistics Department also participated in the drill in accordance with their respective scopes of work, while the Efficiency Office simulated the provision of enquiry hotline support services. All personnel participating in the field operation drill were able to arrive at the designated locations within the specified time. The Government will review and analyse the outcomes of the entire drill in detail in due course. Ends/Thursday, February 16, 2023 Issued at HKT 20:09 NNNN