SCS visits Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (with photos)

     The Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Joshua Law, visited the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer today (September 24) 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, Mr Thomas Chow, Mr Law first met with the Government Chief Information Officer, Mr Victor Lam, and the directorate staff to receive an update on the department's work, its opportunities and challenges including the revamp of public services through the application of new technologies and a data-driven approach in support of the digital government and smart city development in Hong Kong, and to enable the public to use various e-Government services in a simple, convenient and secure manner.

Mr Law then visited the Data Analytics Sub-division to better understand colleagues' support for government bureaux and departments to conduct big data analytics so as to improve government operational efficiency and city management, and their use of artificial intelligence to develop chatbot functions on the GovHK Portal to facilitate searching and access of e-Government services by the public. He was also briefed by colleagues of the Cyber Security Sub-division on the Government's measures in tackling cyber security threats and the work on promoting public awareness of information security.

Mr Law then proceeded to the newly established Smart Government Innovation Lab (Smart LAB). He was pleased to learn that the Smart LAB provides a platform to connect the service needs of government departments with solutions from the information technology industry, particularly local start-ups and small and medium enterprises, and conduct proof-of-concept and technology testing to help co-create innovative measures for enhancing public services.

Before concluding his visit, Mr Law met with staff representatives of various grades in the department at a tea gathering to exchange views on matters that concern them. He expressed appreciation for colleagues' efforts and encouraged them to continue to promote wider use of innovative technologies in the community to help sustain Hong Kong's position as Asia's leading digital city.