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In response to the report issued by the Independent Review Committee for the Prevention and Handling of Potential Conflicts of Interests (the Committee) today (May 31), a Government spokesman said the Government agreed with the recommendations in the report in principle, and would consider how to follow up and implement individual recommendations.
Over the past few months, the Committee has reviewed comprehensively the regulatory framework and procedures for the prevention and handling of potential conflicts of interests concerning the Chief Executive, non-official members of the Executive Council (ExCo) and politically appointed officials. The Committee has identified the insufficiencies in the existing mechanism and made a number of recommendations for improvement. The Chief Executive, Mr Donald Tsang, extended his gratitude to the Committee's Chairman, Mr Andrew Li Kwok-nang, and all members of the Committee for their efforts.
The Chief Executive said, "A clean government is a core value of our society. The public has high expectations on the integrity of public officers. It is therefore crucial to put in place a sound system to prevent and handle potential conflicts of interests involving public officers.
"To meet public expectations amid the rapidly changing society, I agree that we should constantly review and update the mechanism regulating the Chief Executive, ExCo members and politically appointed officials."
As the recommendations will affect the Chief Executive of the next term and his political team, the Chief Executive's Office has forwarded the report to the Chief Executive-elect's Office for reference.
Ends/Thursday, May 31, 2012
Issued at HKT 15:40
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