*******************************************************
The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mrs Carrie Lam, visited the headquarters of the Information Services Department (ISD) at Harbour Building this afternoon (August 14) to gain a deeper understanding of the department's work.
Mrs Lam started her visit by meeting the Director of Information Services, Mr Patrick Nip, and other senior officers of the department and receiving a briefing on the department's work in media services, public relations and promotions locally and in areas outside Hong Kong.
Mrs Lam then toured the News Sub-division, the Media Research Sub-division and the Government e-Bulletin (news.gov.hk) to learn more about their daily operations. During the visit, Mrs Lam was also briefed on the department's creative design, video production and publicity services, as well as the promotional work being carried out by the department on the Mainland, in Taiwan and overseas. She learned more about how Brand Hong Kong helps in promoting Hong Kong as Asia's world city, the provision of design and promotional support to offices outside Hong Kong, and the rendering of public relations and news services to the international news media in Hong Kong. She understood that the department is devoting more resources to multimedia productions to strengthen support for the Government's publicity, local promotion and exhibition work.
During the visit, Mrs Lam chatted with front-line staff and stressed that ISD provides an important link between the media and the Government. She commended ISD staff for their professionalism and encouraged them to continue with their good work to enhance public and media understanding of the Government's policy decisions, rationale and work, as well as to promote Hong Kong to global audiences.
"Adhering to the principles of openness and transparency, the Government takes a proactive and positive approach to disseminate information to the media and the public in a timely manner," Mrs Lam said. "The dedicated team of professionals in the Information Officer Grade and other grades play a vital role in all these efforts. I am confident that ISD colleagues will continue their dedication to work and provide quality services."
Ends/Thursday, August 14, 2014
Issued at HKT 16:56
NNNN
