Government completes second drill under &quot;government-wide mobilisation&quot; level to consolidate and enhance responsiveness (22.4.2024)
22.4.2024

The Civil Service Bureau (CSB) today (April 22) conducted the second drill under the "government-wide mobilisation" level, codenamed "Exercise Touchdown II", to test the ability of bureaux/departments (B/Ds) to mobilise their rostered staff and to provide transport and logistics support within a short period of time following the activation of the mobilisation protocol. The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, and the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung, inspected the operation drill at the Cheung Wah Community Hall in Fanling. Mr Chan said that the enhanced mobilisation protocol is an important initiative of the current-term Government to further improve governance, improve the systemic resilience and enhance the Government's emergency response capabilities, ensuring that the Government can mobilise government staff in a more organised, systematic and efficient manner in case of major incidents so as to achieve the objective of "early planning and early intervention". He instructed colleagues to make a proper deployment in response to major or unexpected incidents, and fully support the operation of the mobilisation protocol. He also urged them to uphold the spirit of "putting the people first and addressing people's pressing needs", stand united when facing different challenges and serve the public to their best abilities. Mrs Yeung said that the "Exercise Touchdown II" helps to further familiarise the participating B/Ds with the process and arrangements for activating the mobilisation protocol. The CSB will continue to conduct drills at an appropriate time with a view to consolidating and enhancing the mobility and responsiveness of government staff, and cultivating flexibility and efficiency in the organisational culture. The Government will continue to strengthen the execution capabilities of all participating B/Ds under the mobilisation protocol, and remind the designated personnel on roster to remain vigilant and to form a quick response unit (QRU) promptly to provide responses decisively in the event of major incidents. The drill simulated a scenario in which a super typhoon was approaching Hong Kong and its associated torrential rain might result in serious flooding in some low-lying areas. It was therefore necessary for the Government to promptly mobilise staff across departments to form a QRU to provide support. All B/Ds were notified by the CSB and around 10 000 designated personnel were put on standby. Among them, 46 B/Ds had to deploy a total of around 700 staff members to assemble at designated locations within a specified time as soon as possible. About 260 staff members were required to assemble at the Cheung Wah Community Hall in Fanling and the remaining staff were required to assemble at designated locations of their respective B/Ds for a briefing. The Government Logistics Department also participated in the drill and arranged vehicles and designated supplies to arrive at the Cheung Wah Community Hall. The whole drill lasted for about four hours. The Chief Executive announced in the 2022 Policy Address the enhancement of the mobilisation protocol with B/Ds drawing up their lists of designated personnel in advance to ensure that manpower can be mobilised promptly to form a QRU to provide reinforcement in the event of major incidents requiring considerable manpower support. On February 16, 2023, the Government conducted the first drill. In September 2023, more than 600 government staff from 16 B/Ds participated in the mobilisation operations to assist in the recovery work at various districts following the passage of Super Typhoon Saola and the torrential rain. Ends/Monday, April 22, 2024 Issued at HKT 21:15 NNNN