Chairperson of Equal Opportunities Commission appointed (with photo)

     The Government announced today (March 22) that the Chief Executive has appointed Mr Ricky Chu Man-kin as the Chairperson of the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) for a term of three years commencing April 11, 2019, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Sex Discrimination Ordinance (Cap 480).

     Mr Chu has worked in the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) for a total of 35 years, and was the Director of Investigation before retirement.  He also headed the Secretariat of the Independent Police Complaints Council for over five years. He has rich experience in public administration.

     A government spokesman said, "An open recruitment exercise was conducted through a human resources consultant to select the EOC Chairperson. A Selection Board was set up to carefully consider each candidate and make recommendation to the Chief Executive.

     "The selection criteria included knowledge, ideals and passion towards equal opportunities and anti-discrimination, extensive administrative experience and leadership as well as good communication skills and so forth.

     "Mr Chu has extensive experience in public service. He is fair and impartial and possesses good leadership, management and communication capabilities. We expect that under Mr Chu's leadership, the EOC will continue to actively promote equal opportunities and eliminate discrimination in the community."

     The Government also expressed gratitude for the work of Professor Alfred Chan Cheung-ming, the incumbent Chairperson, at the EOC over the past three years. The spokesman said, "During the term of office of Professor Chan, the EOC has continued to effectively implement the four anti-discrimination ordinances, and laid a good foundation which facilitated the introduction of the Discrimination Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill by the Government into the Legislative Council. Once the Bill is passed, the scope of protection under the anti-discrimination ordinances will be expanded. The EOC has also promoted equal opportunities in the community and raised public awareness of the EOC through various publicity and educational initiatives."

     Chaired by Mr Bernard Chan, the Selection Board appointed to advise the Chief Executive on the recruitment comprised Dr Lam Ching-choi, Ms Shalini Mahtani, Professor Daniel Shek, the Secretary for Labour and Welfare and the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs.