Author Archives: hksar gov

     Following is a question by Dr the Hon Tik Chi-yuen and a written reply by the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Erick Tsang Kwok-wai, in the Legislative Council today (July 13):
 
Question:
 
     Regarding the roles and responsibilities of the three Deputy Secretaries of Departments (DSoDs) created by the current-term Government, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the specific division of work between, and duties of, the three Secretaries of Departments (SoDs) (i.e. the Chief Secretary for Administration, the Financial Secretary and the Secretary for Justice) and their respective DSoDs;
 
(2) as the Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration and the Deputy Financial Secretary will assist their respective SoDs in supervising the policy bureaux under them, of the details of the division of work concerned;

(3) as the Government has indicated that the creation of the posts of DSoDs is for strengthening the Government’s top-level capacity to co-ordinate, how the three DSoDs will fulfil their roles of co-ordinating various government departments, including whether they will set up task forces for different inter-departmental tasks; if so, of the details and timetable; if not, the reasons for that;

(4) how the three DSoDs co-ordinate among themselves; and

(5) as the Chief Executive (CE) pledged in his election manifesto to set targets and key performance indicators for selected tasks within the first 100 days after the new-term Government took office, whether the CE will assign the three DSoDs to carry out selected tasks, and set targets and indicators for such tasks; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     The Government’s reply to Dr the Hon Tik Chi-yuen’s question is as follows:

(1) and (2) The Chief Secretary for Administration (CS) assists the Chief Executive (CE) in supervising the nine policy bureaux under the CS’s care and plays a key role in ensuring co-ordination in policy formulation and implementation within the Government. The CS also covers specific priority areas of the CE’s policy agenda, and is responsible for forging a closer and more effective working relationship with the Legislative Council and drawing up the Government’s legislative programme. In addition, the CS exercises statutory functions vested in him by law, such as those concerning the handling of appeals and operations of certain public bodies.

     Major work of the Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration (DCS) can generally be grouped under the following four categories: (a) to assist the CS to oversee and co-ordinate the day-to-day operation of the nine policy bureaux under his purview; (b) to assist the CS to review proposals submitted by policy bureaux; (c) to co-ordinate projects that involve the remits of various departments as directed by the CE and the CS. In this regard, a District Matters Co-ordination Task Force announced by the Government on July 6, 2022, is to be led by the DCS, who will co-ordinate efforts from various bureaux and departments to enhance the overall environmental hygiene and cityscape in Hong Kong; and (d) to share the burden of the CS in attending public events and chairing of meetings.
 
     The primary responsibility of the Financial Secretary (FS) is to assist the CE in overseeing policy formulation and implementation of financial, monetary, economic, trade, development, housing, transport, logistics, innovation and technology as well as industrial matters. The FS exercises control over the Exchange Fund with the assistance of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. The FS is also in charge of the Government Budget and is responsible under the Public Finance Ordinance for laying before the Legislative Council each year the government’s estimates of revenue and expenditure. The FS presents in the annual Budget Speech budgetary proposals and moves the Appropriation Bill, which gives legal effect to the annual expenditure proposals in the Budget.
 
     The Deputy Financial Secretary (DFS) will co-ordinate and take forward the work of six policy bureaux under the purview of the Financial Secretary’s Office. Coverage of the work is very wide, including land and housing, transport and logistics, financial and economic development, innovation and technology, industry, etc. The DFS expects that he will, especially at the initial stage of this term of the government, focus more on spatial planning, land supply and construction of housing. He will also participate in the formulation of the Budget for the next financial year. As for other areas, he will share the work as appropriate according to the instructions of the FS and actual circumstances.
 
     The Secretary for Justice (SJ) heads the Department of Justice (DoJ) and is responsible for supervising six Law Officers in the DoJ, covering civil law matters, constitutional and policy affairs, international law, law drafting, criminal prosecutions, prosecution of criminal cases endangering national security and other related legal work. The Deputy Secretary for Justice (DSJ) will share the heavy workload of the SJ. While the related division of work and responsibilities would depend on the actual operational needs of the DoJ, his main responsibilities initially are to assist in co-ordinating and planning legal work in four areas, including: (a) enhancing education on the rule of law, the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China, the Basic Law and national security; (b) promoting legal exchange and collaboration in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area; (c) promoting development of LawTech in Hong Kong; and (d) attracting and nurturing legal talents required to complement Hong Kong’s development in various professional fields under the national development.

(3) The Government announced on July 6, 2022, the establishment of four Task Forces which are to be led by officials at the rank of Secretary or Deputy Secretary of the Department. The DCS will take the lead in the District Matters Co-ordination Task Force to supervise various bureaux and departments to enhance the overall environmental hygiene and cityscape in Hong Kong and build a clean and livable environment through broad-based community participation. The Task Force convened its first meeting on July 12. The first phase of work for the Task Force is to co-ordinate the launching of a three-month clean-up campaign against hygiene black spots across the territory. The Task Force will harness the combined strengths of government departments and different sectors of the community, especially the network of District Services and Community Care Teams to be set up in the 18 districts. From October this year, the Task Force will review the experience gained in the first phase of work and supervise relevant bureaux and departments to set sustainable action plans, key performance indicators and a system for evaluating the effectiveness of their measures. The Task Force will also commence work on promoting improvement to cityscape, such as beautifying public space, improving street furniture, and enhancing city landscape and community streetscape, etc.
 
     The DFS will chair the inter-departmental Task Force on Public Housing Projects. The Task Force is responsible for overseeing the production of public housing, and its terms of reference include monitoring the timely handover of sites earmarked for construction of public housing projects; exploring measures to expedite their construction and intake; producing and continually updating forecast of new public housing supply; considering and resolving major cross-bureaux or inter-departmental issues affecting the timely completion of public housing projects, as well as considering and formulating measures to increase the supply of public housing. The Task Force convened its first meeting on July 12. As clearly directed by the CE, the Task Force will submit specific proposals to the CE within the first 100 days of the new term of the Government, including putting forward proposals for expediting the construction of public housing, with a view to raising the production and speed of overall public housing supply, making Hong Kong a better place to live and work.
 
(4) The DCS, DFS and DSJ will assist in handling policy matters under the purview of the CS, FS and SJ respectively, with clear delineation of roles and responsibilities.

(5) The CE mentioned at the CE’s Question and Answer Session in the Legislative Council on July 6, 2022, that all Directors of Bureaux (DoBs) had been asked to set indicators for selected projects in their respective policy areas so as to monitor the work progress. The DoBs will submit the indicators to the Chief Executive’s Office in August. 

     As aforementioned, the target of the District Matters Co-ordination Task Force as led by the DCS is to co-ordinate the launching of a three-month clean-up campaign starting July in its first phase of work. Then in October this year, the Task Force will supervise the relevant bureaux and departments to set sustainable action plans, key performance indicators and a system for evaluating the effectiveness of their measures as well as commencing to promote improvement to cityscape.
 
     As regards the Task Force on Public Housing Projects chaired by the DFS, as mentioned above, it will, as clearly directed by the CE, submit specific proposals to the CE within the first 100 days of the new term of the Government, including putting forward proposals for expediting the construction of public housing, with a view to raising the production and speed of overall public housing supply, making Hong Kong a better place to live and work. read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Paul Tse and a written reply by the Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, in the Legislative Council today (July 13):
 
Question:
 
     It has been reported that the Department of Health had a cumulative number of wastage of dentists at 64 in the past three years, and the latest vacancy rate is as high as 16 per cent. Some veteran dentists have pointed out that in recent years, some private dental clinics have recruited dentists with a monthly salary of $200,000 which, coupled with other causes such as retirement and emigration of quite a number of government dentists, has led to a high wastage rate of government dentists. The latest figures indicate that members of the public have to wait for 12 to 18 months for a general examination at government dental clinics, and the longest waiting time for treatments such as root canal treatment and fillings even reaches 39 months. Some members of the public have criticised that the waiting time is too long and unacceptable, especially for those underprivileged grass-roots elderly persons who have limited financial ability to afford the services of private dental clinics which charge exorbitant fees, even such elderly persons have the subsidy of health care vouchers. This, in effect, deprives such elderly persons of their right to receiving treatment. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the new measures in place, under the circumstances of a continued drop in the number of government dentists, to increase the manpower of government dentists and shorten the waiting time of members of the public for public dental services;
 
(2) in view of the excessively long waiting time of members of the public for public dental services, whether it will consider subsidising patients to receive treatments at private dental clinics through a “public-private partnership” model; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
 
(3) in view of the strong demand of members of the public for dental services, whether it has studied the introduction of a policy on mobile dental vans for various districts; if it has studied, of the outcome, and the annual number of members of the public expected to be benefitted from such service; if not, whether it will immediately conduct such a study; and

(4) as some members of the public have criticised that the current amount under the Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme is insufficient for supporting elderly persons to receive private dental services, and elderly persons are forced to wait often for years for receiving government dental services, whether the authorities will study the feasibility of introducing elderly dental care vouchers, or the provision of other subsidies, so as to encourage elderly persons to use private dental services, thereby alleviating the pressure on public dental services?
 
Reply:
 
President,

     The reply to the question raised by the Member is as follows:

(1) To cope with the surge in demand for dental services, the Government will further increase the annual intake of University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded first-year-first-degree training places in dentistry from 80 to 90 in the 2022/23 to 2024/25 triennium. It is expected that there will be around 400 dental graduates becoming registered dentists in the coming five years. 

     Furthermore, the Government will provide ten UGC-funded taught postgraduate places in dentistry per year in the 2022/23 to 2024/25 triennium to ensure a stable supply of dental specialists. For admission of non-locally trained dentists, the Dental Council of Hong Kong has increased the Licensing Examination for non-locally trained dentists to two sittings a year starting from 2015, and has further improved the arrangement of certain parts of the Licensing Examination and updated its result retention policy and examination admission arrangement, so as to attract more qualified non-locally trained dentists to practise in Hong Kong and contribute to the diversity of the local dentistry workforce.

     As regards the reduced manpower of Dental Officers in the Government, the Department of Health (DH) will adopt a multi-pronged approach to recruit and retain Dental Officers, including:

(a) continuing all-year-round recruitment of Dental Officers to fill vacancies arising from natural wastage or the creation of new posts; and accepting applications for non-civil service contract positions in individual dental specialties throughout the year;

(b) adjusting the starting salaries by granting incremental credits based on the experience of candidates, and relaxing the language proficiency requirements for some posts, so as to encourage more professionally qualified applicants to apply for Dental Officer posts in the DH;

(c) subject to applicable arrangements and relevant criteria, extending the employment of Dental Officers beyond normal retirement age so as to retain experienced staff such that they can pass on their professional expertise and skills;

(d) conducting recruitment seminars for dental students; and

(e) providing suitable training for incumbent Dental Officers, including professional training and subsidising their postgraduate studies, so as to increase the attractiveness of the post of Dental Officer.
 
(2) and (4) Proper oral health habits are important to the effective prevention of dental diseases. As such, the Government’s policy on dental care seeks to raise public awareness of oral health and encourage proper oral health habits, through promotion and education, thereby improving oral health and preventing dental diseases. Dental care services in Hong Kong are mainly provided by the private sector and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Under the prevailing policy, the Government mainly undertakes publicity, education (including the School Dental Care Service), promotion of oral health and provision of emergency dental services for the public (including General Public Sessions to provide treatment of acute dental diseases, prescription for pain relief, treatment of oral abscess and teeth extraction); and takes forward initiatives targeting persons with special dental care needs, in particular elderly persons with financial difficulties and persons with difficulties in accessing general dental services.

     For elderly persons, the Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme (the Scheme) currently subsidises eligible Hong Kong elders aged 65 or above with an annual voucher amount of $2,000 to use private primary healthcare services provided by ten types of healthcare professionals, including dentists. Under the existing arrangement, the elderly can flexibly use the vouchers to receive private healthcare services that best suit their health needs. In 2019, the accumulation limit of the voucher amount was raised to $8,000. This enhancement provides the elderly with more flexibility and room in using dental services. In 2021, the voucher amount claimed by the elderly for private dental services represented 14 per cent of the total voucher amount claimed, which was the third highest among the ten types of healthcare services under the Scheme. Further to the Elderly Health Care Voucher, the Government has also launched a series of initiatives for elders with special needs to receive dental care support services in recent years. The measures include the Outreach Dental Care Programme for the Elderly (ODCP) and the Community Care Fund (CCF) Elderly Dental Assistance Programme (details set out below). The Government does not have any plan to introduce an elderly care voucher for dental services at this stage.

     The Government launched a three-year pilot project in 2011 to provide subsidies for NGOs to set up outreach dental teams to provide basic dental services (covering oral examination, scaling and polishing, and emergency dental treatments) for elders residing in residential care homes for the elderly (RCHEs) or receiving services in day care centres for the elderly (DEs). With the experience gained, the Government regularised the pilot project (renamed as ODCP) in October 2014 to continue the provision of outreach dental services for relevant elders with expanded scope of dental treatments covering fillings, extractions and dentures, etc. The scope of beneficiaries was also expanded to cover those residing in similar facilities (e.g. nursing homes for the elderly registered under the DH). Under the ODCP, ten NGOs have set up a total of 23 outreach dental teams to provide free outreach dental services for elders in RCHEs, DEs and similar facilities in the city.

     The Elderly Dental Assistance Programme, funded by the CCF and launched in September 2012, provides free removable dentures and related dental services (including oral examination, scaling and polishing, fillings, tooth extractions and X-ray examinations) to low-income elders who are users of the home care services subvented by the Social Welfare Department (SWD). To allow more elders in need to benefit, the programme was expanded by phases in September 2015, October 2016, July 2017 and February 2019 to cover elders who are recipients of the Old Age Living Allowance and aged 65 or above. The scope of subsidy under the Programme has been further expanded since July 2021 to cover more subsidised dental treatment items so that eligible elders in need can receive more targeted dental services related to the fitting of removable dentures and related dental services. The newly included treatment items cover the removal of bridges or crowns and the provision of root canal treatment, while elders aged 75 or above who received dental services under the programme at least five years ago can receive free removable dentures and related dental services for a second time.

     Furthermore, for persons with financial difficulties, the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) Scheme provides a dental grant for its recipients to pay for dental services (including extraction, dentures, crowns, bridges, post, post and core, scaling and polishing, fillings and root canal treatment). Eligible CSSA recipients may go to one of the 73 dental clinics designated by the SWD for dental examination and cost estimation of the needed services, and then choose to receive the relevant dental treatments from any registered dentist in Hong Kong, including any of those in the SWD designated dental clinics. The amount of grant payable will be based on the exact fee charged by the clinic, the cost estimated by the designated clinic or the ceiling amount set by the SWD, whichever is the less.

     For planning and evaluation of oral health programmes, and to plan for future oral health care development, it is necessary for the Government to collect information on the oral health conditions and related behaviour of the people in Hong Kong. The DH conducts a territory-wide oral health survey (OHS) every ten years. Following the OHS 2001 and 2011, the DH commenced the OHS 2021 in November 2021 to collect information about the prevailing oral health conditions of the local population. The expert group of the DH will review and advise on the setting of appropriate oral health goals taking into account the age groups (including the elderly) set in the OHS 2001 and 2011, the local situation, and the findings of the OHS 2021.

     The Government is well aware of the public’s keen demand for dental services, and will continue to communicate with relevant stakeholders, listen to different views and formulate relevant measures after fully considering all recommendations, with a view to achieving oral health goals set, promoting oral health of the public, and continuing to take care of persons with special needs, including elderly persons with financial difficulties. To this end, the Government will review and consider regularisation of dental services under different schemes (including the Scheme, the CCF Elderly Dental Assistance Programme, etc.) with a view to ensuring the provision of more effective dental services for the elderly and needy. The Government will also examine dental services as part of primary healthcare services under the framework of the Primary Healthcare Blueprint.
 
(3) The concept of mobile dental clinics is to provide dental services by means of well-equipped vehicles for people who have difficulties in accessing such services (e.g. people living in remote and rural areas). In Hong Kong, public transportation is relatively more convenient, and dental clinics are easily accessible. On the other hand, the scope of service that can be provided in mobile dental clinics has its limitation. The Government will consider appropriate arrangement for the provision of the relevant service in the course of examining the dental services as mentioned above. read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Chan Yuet-ming and a reply by the Secretary for the Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, in the Legislative Council today (July 13):
 
Question:
 
In the Waste Blueprint for Hong Kong 2035 (the Blueprint) announced early last year, the Government set a long-term goal of developing adequate waste-to-energy facilities, so as to move away from the reliance on landfills for disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW) and achieve “Zero Landfill” in around 2035. However, Hong Kong currently disposes of an average daily total of 11 000 tonnes of MSW through two existing landfills, whereas the Integrated Waste Management Facilities (incineration facilities) Phase 1 and Phase 2 under the Blueprint, which will commence operation in 2025 and the early 2030s respectively, will only be able to dispose of a daily total of around 7 000 tonnes of MSW. Therefore, the Government currently still needs to identify sites for the construction of Phase 3 of the incineration facilities, and to extend these landfills during the transitional period. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) as Phase 3 of the incineration facilities is currently still at the site search stage, how the Government ensures that the target of “Zero Landfill” can be achieved in 2035; whether it will take new measures and allocate additional resources to advance the completion of Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the incineration facilities; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
 
(2) whether it has reserved expansion space for Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the incineration facilities for raising their waste disposal capacity; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
 
(3) as it is learnt that residents in Luohu District and Nanshan District of Shenzhen have incessant grievances towards the North East New Territories Landfill and the West New Territories Landfill, whether the Government has plans to review afresh the operation of these two landfills, such as deferring their extension plans or examining when they can be closed; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     Last year, the Government announced the Waste Blueprint for Hong Kong 2035 and the Hong Kong’s Climate Action Plan 2050, setting out to move away from the reliance on landfills for municipal solid waste (MSW) disposal by around 2035 and to achieve carbon neutrality in waste management before 2050. The Government’s strategy has two main directions. The first is to proactively mobilise the entire community to practise waste reduction and resources circulation so as to reduce waste at source. The second is to move away from the reliance on landfills for MSW disposal through construction of infrastructures and expedite the development of sufficient waste-to-energy (WtE) facilities.
 
     My reply to the question raised by the Hon Chan Yuet-ming is as follows:
 
(1) & (2) The Government is building the first Integrated Waste Management Facility (IWMF), namely I·PARK1, on an artificial island of about 16 hectares in the open sea off Shek Kwu Chau, with a treatment capacity of 3 000 tonnes of MSW per day. The relevant reclamation works and construction works for seawalls and breakwaters have been substantially completed. The contractor is carrying out the foundation works on the artificial island, and also prefabricating the boiler steel structure and its electrical and mechanical parts at the prefabrication yard in Zhuhai. The prefabricated items will then be shipped to the artificial island for assembly while the remaining works of the project will be continued. I·PARK1 is expected to commission in 2025.
 
     The Government announced in January this year that the Tsang Tsui middle ash lagoon in Tuen Mun was identified to be the site for developing the second IWMF, i.e. the Integrated Waste Management Facilities Phase 2 to be named as I·PARK2, with a daily treatment capacity of 4 000 tonnes of MSW. When planning for the development of I·PARK1, the Government considered both Tsang Tsui in Tuen Mun and the artificial island off Shek Kwu Chau were suitable sites for developing WtE facilities. Comparing with other locations in Hong Kong, the conditions of the Tsang Tsui site in Tuen Mun are relatively mature for developing WtE facilities. This will be conducive to the expeditious commencement and completion of the construction works for I·PARK2. It is expected that I·PARK2 can be put into services no later than early 2030s to further reduce the use of landfill space for MSW disposal. The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) is now arranging for the engagement of consultants to carry out the detailed Environmental Impact Assessment study and the technical studies for I·PARK2. The consultancy studies are expected to commence in December this year.
 
     Our goal is to achieve “Zero Landfill” by around 2035 through various waste reduction and recycling measures, coupling with adequate WtE facilities, so as to cope with the long-term needs for MSW management of Hong Kong. The amount of waste generation will increase with economic and trade and population growth. Currently we expect that, in addition to I·PARK1 and I·PARK2, it is most likely that I·PARK3 (i.e. Integrated Waste Management Facilities Phase 3) will be required in order to achieve the goal of “Zero Landfill”. Therefore, the EPD is commencing a territory-wide site search study in parallel to identify other potential sites suitable for developing more similar WtE facilities. For timely completion and operation of adequate WtE facilities required for Hong Kong, we are exploring the use of Public Private Partnership approach to pursue some of these facilities, to ensure speedy construction of WtE facilities through the most efficient and cost-effective means.
 
     Regarding the suggestion on increasing the design treatment capacity of I·PARK1, the area of the artificial island off Shek Kwu Chau is only sufficient for building an IWMF with a daily treatment capacity of 3 000 tonnes and the current design has already occupied the whole artificial island. Therefore, it is technically infeasible to increase the treatment capacity of I·PARK1.
 
     As for I·PARK2, where Tsang Tsui in Tuen Mun overlooking Deep Bay, both sides of the site have been developed with other existing facilities. Given the geographical constraints together with the surrounding facilities required by I·PARK2 , the site area available for development is limited, which is estimated to be merely enough for building the proposed main facility with a daily treatment capacity of 4 000 tonnes and its ancillary facilities and there is virtually no space for further expansion.
 
(3) Nowadays, Hong Kong needs to handle about 11 000 tonnes of MSW and 4 000 tonnes of construction waste every day. Currently, the North East New Territories (NENT) Landfill and the West New Territories (WENT) Landfill are responsible for receiving MSW. The Government is actively promoting the development of WtE facilities according to the strategies set out in the Waste Blueprint for Hong Kong 2035 with a view to achieving the goal of “Zero Landfill” by around 2035. However, before the full commissioning of adequate WtE facilities, Hong Kong still needs to have landfills for disposal of MSW. Therefore, it is actually necessary to extend the landfills to a limited extent during the transitional period, and to increase the capacity of the existing landfills to cope with the disposal needs in the short to medium term. With the anticipated commissioning of I·PARK1 in 2025, together with the landfill operation arrangements and associated traffic arrangements, it is expected that the total amount of MSW to be handled by the two landfills in the New Territories can be reduced by about 3 000 tonnes per day. Upon the commissioning of I·PARK2, the NENT Landfill will completely cease receiving MSW. We expect that the development of the Northern Metropolis may generate a large amount of construction waste, which will not decay and be odourless. If construction waste will be disposed of at the NENT Landfill during the development of the Northern Metropolis, it can reduce the nuisance to residents caused by long distance transportation, while the odour and hygiene problems arising from landfilling of MSW will no longer be existed. Around 2035, when Hong Kong has sufficient waste incineration capacity, the WENT Landfill will also cease receiving MSW.
 
     Regionally, the EPD has all along been actively maintaining close communication and exchanging views with the Shenzhen Municipal Government on the operational management of the NENT Landfill and WENT Landfill and how their extensions operate and reduce nuisance. Shenzhen and Hong Kong sides will continue to maintain close liaison regarding issues associated with the two landfills. read more

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:      The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) issued today (July 13) the renewed Statement of Commitment (Annex) to the Foreign Exchange Global Code. By r… read more

     The Government announced today (July 13) the appointment of Mr Fletch Chan Wai-wai, Administrative Officer Staff Grade B, as the Director of Information Services, following an in-service recruitment exercise. Mr Chan will take up the appointment tomorrow (July 14).
 
     Commenting on Mr Chan’s appointment, the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung, said, “Mr Chan has worked in various bureaux and departments in the past 25 years, including serving as Press Secretary to Financial Secretary and Administrative Assistant to Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs. He possesses rich experience in public administration and handling of public relations, as well as proven leadership and management skills. I am confident that under the leadership of Mr Chan, the Information Services Department will maintain its professionalism in providing public relations strategies, enhancing public understanding of the Government’s policy thinking and position, and promoting Hong Kong and its positive image both locally and overseas.”
 
     A brief biographical note of Mr Chan is set out below:

     Mr Fletch Chan Wai-wai joined the Administrative Service in August 1997 and rose to the rank of Administrative Officer Staff Grade B in April 2021. He has served in various bureaux and departments, including the University Grants Committee, the former Health and Welfare Bureau, the former Constitutional Affairs Bureau, the former Environment, Transport and Works Bureau, the Environmental Protection Department, the former Economic Development and Labour Bureau, the former Transport and Housing Bureau, the Financial Secretary’s Office, the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau, the former Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Office and the Chief Secretary for Administration’s Office.