The Secretary for the Civil Service (SCS), Mr Patrick Nip, today (November 23) commended 101 civil servants for their outstanding work performance at the SCS's Commendation Award Presentation Ceremony 2021. The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, also attended the ceremony to extend her congratulations to the award recipients.
Addressing the ceremony, Mr Nip said Hong Kong has encountered the double blows of the disturbances and riots arising from the legislative exercise of the Fugitive Offenders Bill as well as the COVID-19 epidemic over the past two years. During this period, a great majority of civil service colleagues, be they disciplined services officers or civilian officers, have made tremendous efforts and contributions to support and assist the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government in coping with these unprecedented challenges, and they truly deserved commendations.
He said that with the promulgation and implementation of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the improvements to the electoral system and the implementation of the principle of "patriots administering Hong Kong" by the Central Government, Hong Kong is entering a new era of transformation from chaos to stability and further to prosperity. In serving the public, civil servants should move ahead with the times, act proactively, and be innovative, so as to act in accordance with the HKSAR Government in the administration of Hong Kong, and deliver the mission of administering Hong Kong and contributing to the country.
December 19 is the polling date of the Legislative Council (LegCo) election under the improved electoral system. Mr Nip also took the opportunity to appeal to civil servant colleagues to vote and elect their representatives in the LegCo to build and create the future of Hong Kong together.
The 101 awardees this year came from 40 bureaux and departments, and from various grades including professional and technical grades, disciplined services and general grades as well as Model Scale 1 grades. Twenty awardees came from the Police Force, making it the department with the highest number of awardees.
Mr Nip said that during the riots in 2019, colleagues of disciplined services were at the forefront to maintain the law and order, and civilian grades colleagues also faced great challenges.
Senior Engineer of the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department Ms Chan Ying-ying is one of the civil servants commended this year. When the Cross-Harbour Tunnel was seriously damaged in late 2019, Ms Chan and her teammates were responsible for the urgent repair of the toll collection system and the electrical and mechanical facilities of the tunnel. Working round the clock and sparing no efforts, the team successfully made it to enable the tunnel to be re-opened for traffic within 100 hours.
Currently working at Tai Tam Gap Correctional Institution, the first-generation "Smart Prison" in Hong Kong, Officer of the Correctional Services Department Mr Singh Baljinder witnessed an important milestone in the development of correctional services in Hong Kong. Being multilingual, Mr Singh has been assisting non-ethnic Chinese detainees in adapting to the custodial environment and solving problems.
Principal Firewoman (Control) of the Fire Services Department (FSD) Ms Chan Pui-shan is currently stationed at the Mobile Command Unit at Sheung Wan of the FSD. She took part in rescue operations for major incidents and fires on many occasions, and was responsible for communication and co-ordination at the scene, providing support to the frontline colleagues for the rescue work and deploying promptly sufficient manpower and necessary equipment to facilitate the operations.
Another awardee is Superintendent of Posts of the Hong Kong Post Mr Lok Siu-kin. Due to the COVID-19 epidemic early last year, overwhelming overseas inward mail with many containing surgical masks were received at the Air Mail Centre in Chek Lap Kok, some of which with incomplete addresses or telephone numbers. Mr Lok took extra efforts to locate the recipients after work based on the limited information in hand to ensure the mail could reach the right persons.
Chief Census and Survey Officer of the Census and Statistics Department Ms Chan Shuk-fong is also commended for her work. In the 2021 Population Census, Ms Chan led 22 centre supervisors and 7 000 field enumerators to conduct data collection work for about 3 million households across Hong Kong. The data collection came to a successful conclusion within a short spell of 40-odd days, with all the face-to-face interviews conducted by frontline staff during the epidemic in a safe manner.
Mr Nip encouraged colleagues to strive ahead with renewed perseverance in the new era, uphold their professionalism and efficiency with flexibility, think from the perspective of the public and go an extra mile in serving the public. He said with the establishment of the Civil Service College next month, the Civil Service Bureau will enhance training for civil servants in full swing.
The SCS's Commendation Award Scheme was introduced in 2004 to commend colleagues who have achieved outstanding work performance continuously for at least five years. The Scheme has a meticulous selection process which requires nominations from Permanent Secretaries, departmental heads or heads of grades, adjudication by a selection committee and final decision on the awardees' list by the SCS.
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