weekly
Written by: Huang Shunyang
2021-05-04 21:00
Last update date: 2021-05-04 21:00
There was a small turmoil within the SAR government earlier. The incident occurred late last Wednesday (April 28). The Immigration Department changed its practice and rarely used "not understanding criminal investigation", "indiscriminate criticism", and "destroying the professional image of the Immigration Department." Publicly refuted the new "Audit Report" issued by the National Audit Office on the same day in harsh terms, which criticized the Immigration Department for a number of suspected fake marriage cases that have not been completed for a long time. It is recommended to strengthen the tracing of the suspect's whereabouts.
The incident aroused heated public debate. Some people believe that this is reflected in the fact that after the anti-amendment turmoil, "the military attaches overwhelming the civilian officials" in the government-the disciplined forces with law enforcement powers can refuse to listen to the criticisms of the "civilian officials."
If so, this "infighting in the officialdom" that disregards political ethics and organizational guidelines is actually a "derailment" of the government's administrative authority, sounding a wake-up call for the SAR government, which is reshaping the political order and needs to strengthen "executive leadership."
Disregarding the organizational framework is often for internal "disorder"
The so-called "Gang Chang" is the abbreviation of "Three Gangs and Wu Changs". It refers to the three basic human relations of emperor and minister, father and son, and husband and wife, as well as the five virtues of benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom, and trust. In modern government, it can be understood as different public enterprises There is an "orderly" relationship between departments and stakeholders, and each performs its duties to achieve "harmony" in the political system, avoiding mutual prejudice and "disorder".
In the SAR government, the power and responsibility of the Audit Commission is to evaluate the value of money for government departments and public organizations to improve their service performance, accountability and effectiveness, and to combat bureaucratic laziness.
To this end, the Department needs to provide an independent and professional audit report to the Public Accounts Committee of the Legislative Council on a regular basis every year, and the Accounts Committee of the Legislative Council will decide whether to conduct public hearings based on the contents of the report.
During the period between the submission of the audit report to the Legislative Council and the public hearing, departmental stakeholders must avoid publicly refuting the audit results contained in the report to ensure that the Public Accounts Committee can conduct the hearing fairly.
In the SAR government, the power and responsibility of the Audit Commission is to evaluate the value of money for government departments and public organizations to improve their service performance, accountability and effectiveness, and to combat bureaucratic laziness.
(Profile picture)
Under this kind of authority structure and regulations, it is the most normal for the Audit Commission to review the Immigration Department. In the past, there have been seven inspections of the Immigration Department's records, and there are precedents for reviewing law enforcement officers.
For example, the controversial investigation of fake marriages was actually mentioned by the Department in the audit report of the "Immigration Department: Operation of the Enforcement Division" ten years ago. At that time, the Immigration Department had a large backlog of unfinished fake marriages. Investigation cases-72 cases in 2006 increased to 3454 cases in 2010. The Audit Office therefore recommended that the prescriptions should be improved in four aspects: assessing long-term manpower requirements; deploying more staff to handle cases; Inform relevant personnel of important lessons learned from successful cases; set specific indicators to measure the efficiency and effectiveness of the Law Enforcement Division (now the Law Enforcement Department), and strengthen the transparency and accountability of investigations.
At that time, the Immigration Department agreed with the Audit Office’s recommendations, but after ten years, the Immigration Department "delled" the backlog of fake marriage investigations that the Immigration Department failed to improve, and even revealed that some cases had a backlog of up to 11 years.
The Immigration Department’s statement was extremely abrupt. On the one hand, it replied in the audit report that it agreed to the relevant recommendations, but ignored the "procedures" of "avoiding public rebuttals" and changed the objections that should have been left to the Accounts Committee for detailed responses to late-night drafts. Publicly criticized the National Audit Office for "not understanding criminal investigations" and "randomly criticizing" the handling of cases by law enforcement agencies.
It can be said that the approach of the Immigration Department is unconventional, it also violates rules and regulations, and it destroys its professional image.
In the final analysis, the problem is that the SAR government has long lost its administrative authority and appears weak and incompetent. As a result, the entire government is like an unowned and lonely soul, allowing all parties to "take advantage of the fire and rob."
(Information Picture/Photographed by Lu Yiming)
Loss of prestige in governance, parties took advantage of the fire to rob
However, why can the Immigration Department uncharacteristically violate the guidelines?
The prescription to use the "professionalism" and professional image of law enforcement agencies to refute audit reports will inevitably raise questions about the fact that the disciplined forces with law enforcement powers can refuse to listen to criticism from "civil officials" after the anti-regulation turmoil.
In fact, it is indeed not the first time that the disciplined services have violated the guidelines. For example, during the anti-amendment turmoil, the Chief Secretary for Administration, Zhang Jianzong, responded to the Yuen Long attack and said that the police's performance in law enforcement did not match the public's expectations. He was willing to apologize for this. This has aroused dissatisfaction with many police associations, and the chairman of the police officer's junior association even questioned if the ability is insufficient, he should "abandon his position and let the virtuous."
Nowadays, the Immigration Department is also violating the rules and regulations to maintain its "professional image."
In the final analysis, the problem is that the SAR government has long lost its administrative authority and appears weak and incompetent. As a result, the entire government is like an unowned and lonely soul, allowing all parties to "take advantage of the fire and rob."
Regarding the loss of governance authority, many people will understand that the anti-amendment turmoil has caused the SAR government to accept a sudden setback, and some people will point the finger at "Hong Kong does not have universal suffrage." However, this image of "incompetence" actually comes from deep The accumulation of conflicts at different levels has led to unfair distribution of resources and poor industrial development. The citizens cannot truly live and work in peace and contentment, and naturally they will not be convinced by the SAR government.
Indeed, it is not the first time that the disciplined services have violated the guidelines. For example, during the anti-amendment turmoil, the police force also experienced similar situations.
(Profile picture)
If the SAR government does not change its mind, improve the economy and people’s livelihood through social reforms, and rebuild its prestige in governance, no matter how the central government strengthens the "executive-led" system of government—that is, on the basis of checks and balances of existing executive power, legislative power, and judicial power, it is prominent With the strong position of executive power, the SAR government will only be held hostage by various forces, and the negative impression of the public will deepen.
In the past, since the Audit Office did not have the power to enforce the law, it is generally believed that after the audited government departments generally agreed with the recommendations of the audit report, they would only "accept the opinion and maintain their attitude." This shows that the deterrence provided by the audit report is limited, even if it Responsible only to the Chief Executive, and is often slapped as a "toothless tiger."
If the SAR government is a promising government and is willing to give the Audit Office greater deterrence and sufficient governance prestige to ensure that the executive, judicial, and legislative departments perform their duties to achieve a "harmony" in the political system, it will also Is there a farce that violates the Tsunami?
Immigration Department Audit Report