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LCQ1: Principal function of Central Policy Unit
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     Following is a question by the Hon Albert Ho and a reply by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mrs Carrie Lam, in the Legislative Council today (November 28):

Question:

     The Head of the Central Policy Unit (CPU) has reportedly said in a recent television interview that, in future, CPU will deploy more resources and manpower to closely attend to messages posted on social networking web sites and discussion forums on the Internet.  In addition, CPU has been assigned a new duty of identifying talents for hundreds of advisory bodies and committees.  It has also been reported that some Administrative Officers have recently been informed that all appointments to public offices of important statutory and advisory bodies are required to be reported to a newly appointed full-time member of CPU.  In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)  of the resources and manpower that CPU will deploy in the next five years for monitoring the opinions on public affairs expressed by members of the public on social networking web sites and discussion forums on the Internet; whether it will recruit additional manpower to post comments on these social networking web sites and discussion forums; if it will, of the additional manpower to be recruited;  

(b)  whether various policy bureaux were previously required to report to CPU's members appointments to the public offices of statutory and advisory bodies; of the total number of candidates for appointment to public offices which have been reported by various policy bureaux since the implementation of the measure, and whether the CPU member concerned has raised objection to any of these candidates; if objections have been raised, whether the candidates concerned have been appointed eventually; and

(c)  whether it has assessed if CPU's new function concerning appointments to public offices of statutory and advisory bodies will undermine the power of policy bureaux in appointing members of the community to public offices; if the assessment outcome is in the affirmative, of the details; if the assessment outcome is in the negative, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,
 
     The principal function of the Central Policy Unit (CPU) is to provide advice to top government officials, i.e. the Chief Executive (CE), the Chief Secretary for Administration (CS), and the Financial Secretary (FS).  It is a think tank in nature.  Apart from conducting policy research and drafting the CE's annual Policy Address, the CPU also examines major policy issues in depth, analyses and assesses community concerns and public opinions, and encourages community discussion on public policy through the appointment of Part-Time Members.  In recent years, the CPU has also been tasked with providing secretariat support for the Commission on Strategic Development.

     My reply to the three-part question is as follows:

(a)  Analysing and assessing community concerns and public opinions is a major area of work of the CPU.  The CPU has been gauging public sentiment through different channels, such as its Part-time Members, community networks, newspapers and magazines, electronic media, regular opinion surveys, etc.

     Online media has become increasingly popular in recent years, in particular among the younger generation.  The public no longer express their views just through the traditional media.  To keep up with the times, the CPU needs to extend its channels for collecting, assessing and analysing public opinions to online media to gain a better grasp of community sentiment and views.  The CPU has recently deployed one to two existing staff members to collect online opinions.  They will not post any views or comments on social networking websites or discussion forums.

(b)  The Administration has not required policy bureaux to report to a Member of the CPU before the appointment of members to advisory and statutory bodies.  Neither has it empowered or entrusted the CPU to approve, decide on or veto the appointments of candidates nominated by policy bureaux.  

     The advisory and statutory bodies of the SAR Government form an integral part of our political system and play an important role in supporting the Administration's work.  They also provide a key channel for people with aspiration to serve the community.   By appointing people from different background to these advisory and statutory bodies, the Administration can enhance its links and mutual understanding with various sectors.  It also helps the Administration feel the pulse of the community and gauge the views of people from different sectors and professions.  Policy formulation and implementation can then better reflect the views of the community.

     The CE has made it clear that the principles governing the appointment of non-official members to advisory and statutory bodies remain unchanged.  Appointments will continue to be based on merits.  All along, the chairpersons and members of major advisory and statutory bodies have been appointed in accordance with the relevant legislation or administrative procedures.  Policy bureaux will continue to be responsible for the appointment procedures for the advisory and statutory bodies under their purview and draw up lists of candidates for consideration by the appointing authorities.

     Over the years, the CPU has appointed hundreds of Part-time Members, forming a rich pool of talents.  From time to time, the CPU has recommended talents to the CE, CS and FS directly.  The current-term Government considers it necessary to nurture more people who aspire to serve the community and to participate in public policy formulation.  The CPU will strengthen its policy research in this area and will provide more systematic advice to the top echelon of the government on candidates suitable for appointment.  To this end, the Administration has informed policy bureaux that they may consult the CPU when preparing their lists of candidates for appointment to major bodies or committees.

     Specifically, the CPU will give advice to policy bureaux when the latter are preparing lists of candidates for consideration by the appointing authorities (such as the CE).  Such advisory service, being more systematic than before, will avoid the appointment of the same candidate to different bodies when he or she is nominated concurrently by different bureaux.  It will also help bring in more talents from different sectors.

     I must stress that the CPU only gives advice or recommends potential candidates.  It is up to the Directors of Bureau and the relevant civil servants of the bureaux concerned to decide if the advice or potential candidates should be accepted.  The bureaux are still responsible for the appointment procedures and preparation of the final candidate lists.  Appointment decisions rest with the appointing authorities.  The CPU does not have the authority to approve or veto appointments.

(c)  The CPU only plays an advisory role.  Since it has no authority to approve or veto appointments, it definitely will not undermine the role and authority of policy bureaux in nominating or appointing members of the community to advisory and statutory bodies.

Ends/Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Issued at HKT 11:32

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