How many "Accountable Officials" are there in Hong Kong?
The answer is 42.
That is, there are 16 people in 3 divisions and 13 bureaus plus 26 deputy bureaus and political assistants.
Because only these 42 are eligible for "accountability", the remaining 180,000 civil servants automatically become "non-accountable" civil servants, and "non-accountability" has also become a collective label for the majority of civil servants.
The accountability system that has been in place for 20 years has "de-accountable" the rest of the public servants.
From a label to a collective identity, and then after 20 years of subtle influence, alienation has become a culture, which is a culture in which 180,000 civil servants do not need to be held accountable.
In fact, the Basic Law and Hong Kong's constitutional documents do not have the name "accountable officials", only "principal officials" and "politically appointed officials", as well as "non-politically appointed" civil servants.
The words "accountable officials" mislead the common people and poison our civil servants.
Chief executive-designate Li Jiachao's policy highlight is the goal-led improvement of execution capabilities.
In the language of the disciplined forces, it is: Military orders are like mountains, and tasks must be accomplished!
To improve the executive ability of civil servants, the most important thing is to make every one of the 180,000 civil servants accountable.
There are 3.5 million people in Hong Kong's workforce, ranging from big bosses to grassroots employees. Who can be exempted from taking responsibility for their own work?
What civil servant training, civil servant colleges, civil servants swearing allegiance, reforming the civil servant promotion system, etc., are all embellishments.
What is most needed is that every civil servant should deliver results in his own post and be responsible for his own work.
This is the basic morality, the minimum responsibility, and the biggest deficiency in Hong Kong's public services.
Chief executive-designate Li Jiachao's policy highlight is the goal-led improvement of execution capabilities.
(China News Agency)
Article 3.7 of the Civil Service Code: "Civil servants must perform their duties to the best of their ability." "Doing the best" is a requirement for 180,000 civil servants.
But after two decades of irresponsibility, many civil servants in Hong Kong have become experts in inaction.
When encountering a slightly controversial task, I will do my best to find procedural obstacles, imagine the possible political landmines that may be triggered, and tell my boss, making the boss speechless; then I feel complacent and feel that I am familiar with the procedure and politically sensitive. I have a high degree and I feel that I have done a good job in protecting myself.
This is Hong Kong civil servant culture.
The culture of military orders is like a mountain: if there is an obstacle, we will do everything possible to remove it; if there is a landmine, we will do our best to remove it, so that the task will be fulfilled.
If a small percentage of Hong Kong civil servants can "do their best", the quality of people's livelihood in Hong Kong's public services will be doubled immediately.
Some commentators will say: Accountability means "political accountability".
These four words actually complicate simple concepts and blur clear issues.
Adding the word "politics" to "accountability" does not enrich the nothingness of these four words.
The accountability system has been implemented for 20 years. Those who have been dismissed include the former Chief Secretary for Administration Cheung Kin-chung, or the Civil Affairs Secretary Tsang Tak-shing who was dismissed during the tenure of Leung Chun-ying, or those who resigned voluntarily, such as Leung Kam-sung of the Tung Chee-hwa era, and those who were dismissed because of the "Hongmen Banquet". Xu Yingwei, who was resigned.
There are also those who have been politically inactive, such as the two recent education bureau chiefs, who have successfully completed their terms of office.
The common denominator here is this: no matter whether there is a "system" of political accountability, if you want to remove them or resign them, you only need to notify Beijing and then an official document.
"Accountability" is by no means the defining characteristic of a politically appointed official, nor is it important.
The real big issue is the accountability of the 180,000 civil servants.
The term "accountable officials" should be eliminated early to restore the nature of their "political appointments"; what needs to be fully implemented with great fanfare is the "accountability system for 180,000 civil servants", especially senior civil servants.
Article 3.11 of the Civil Service Code: "Civil servants must act in accordance with government policies and procedures and are responsible for their decisions and actions in the performance of their public duties and for the use of public resources."
To improve the executive ability of civil servants, the most important thing is to make every one of the 180,000 civil servants accountable.
(Information Services Department)
This provision applies to all civil servants.
Decisions made by low-level civil servants have little impact and have less resources to use, so the impact is relatively small. However, the actions and decisions of senior civil servants will directly affect the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong, and are directly related to the well-being of Hong Kong people.
In February last year, Liu Liqun, director of the FEHD, was promoted to become the permanent secretary of the Food and Health Bureau, with a monthly salary of 300,000 yuan.
During the riots in 2019, she allowed the "Lennon Wall" to be covered with graffiti in the 18th district without doing anything. Instead, the Patriotic Doctor's Clinic only needed an anonymous phone call to complain about the impact on the environment, and she was repeatedly attacked by FEHD staff within a day. Visiting the door to check the harassment, day after day, and starting to remove the national flag on the street before the National Day is over, which is very efficient.
After Director Liu was promoted to Permanent Secretary Liu, he was in charge of food policy.
In late February, the epidemic disrupted the food supply chain in Hong Kong, making fresh pork hard to find, and people in Hong Kong panicked.
The state immediately made moves to ensure the supply of fresh pork in Hong Kong. When there was a shortage of live pigs, live pigs were shipped immediately; the land customs clearance of live pigs was blocked, and the state immediately opened up sea transportation; a large number of slaughterers in Hong Kong were infected and could not start work, so the country urgently dispatched a large number of slaughterers staff to assist in Hong Kong.
But Hong Kong has come up with a host of excuses to keep domestic slaughterers off work, making all efforts to supply live pigs in vain.
The country provides what Hong Kong owes; Hong Kong's civil servants block what the country provides.
Domestic slaughterers coming to work in Hong Kong will hit the employment of local slaughterers and may lead to protests, which is not feasible!
The state has done everything possible to remove obstacles, and civil servants have done nothing.
A domestic friend sent me a WeChat message: What do Hong Kong people do?
Eat frozen or chilled pork without live pigs!
Even the slaughterers have to be dispatched domestically, and even if they are dispatched, they will not be allowed to start work!
How annoying!
This is the result of a "non-accountable" culture of our senior civil servants.
Article 5.6 of the Civil Service Code: "Civil servants...should assist politically appointed officials to introduce and explain the government's proposed policy measures or government policy."
This of course refers to senior civil servants.
At the most severe moment of the fifth wave of the epidemic, the Chief Executive, the Director of the Food and Health Bureau, Dr. Zhang Zhujun, who we are familiar with, and the administrative manager of the Hospital Authority, etc. came out to explain in detail to the public every day, demonstrating the accountability of outstanding civil servants.
On such an important issue as the food supply is so important, I hope that Liu Liqun, the permanent secretary, will come out and explain it so that the public can feel at ease.
But she was never seen, like nothing happened.
Article 5.6 of the Civil Service Code for embellishment?
At the most severe moment of the fifth wave of the epidemic, the Chief Executive, the Director of the Food and Health Bureau, Dr. Zhang Zhujun, the Administrative Manager of the Hospital Authority and others came out in groups to explain in detail to the public every day, demonstrating the accountability of outstanding civil servants.
(China News Agency)
"Civil Service Regulations": "Civil servants must have good overall work performance (including conduct, work attitude and efficiency) during the assessment period to receive a salary increase." Among the 180,000 civil servants, an average of 11 per year in the past five years were due to failure to Meeting the "good job performance" requirement without receiving a pay rise equates to only 0.006 out of every 100 civil servants considered substandard.
Has this requirement been strictly enforced to facilitate the implementation of civil servants' accountability?
Hong Kong faces a strange international situation, including geopolitical wars, public opinion wars, information wars, financial wars, currency wars, resource wars, food wars, and biochemical wars. A team of 180,000 loyal, resourceful, responsible and capable civil servants is the backbone of Hong Kong's prosperity and stability.
It is expected that the Chief Executive-designate will implement the accountability spirit of "military orders are like mountains, and tasks must be fulfilled" by civil servants at all levels, and do their best to benefit Hong Kong.
Yang Zhigang
was a professor of professional application at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and an associate vice president of Hong Kong Baptist University. He is now the vice president of a think tank organization.
