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Following is a question by the Hon Ip Kin-yuen and a written reply by the Secretary for Education, Mr Eddie Ng Hak-kim, in the Legislative Council today (June 17):
Question:
Some media workers have relayed to me that in recent years, there has been a lack of transparency in the dissemination of information to the media by the Education Bureau, the Food and Health Bureau as well as the Labour and Welfare Bureau. For example, when they roll out major policies, they often merely explain the relevant policies in their blogs, or just upload the relevant documents onto their web sites, rather than proactively announcing the policies to the media. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective staff establishments responsible for disseminating information to the media in the three aforesaid policy bureaux (including the numbers of Information Officers);
(2) of the respective numbers of occasions on which information was disseminated to the media by staff members of the three aforesaid policy bureaux each year in the period between 2011 and May this year through the following means, and the respective policies involved (with a tabulated breakdown by policy bureau):
(i) releasing articles in specific web pages on the web sites of policy bureaux (e.g. "Insider's Perspective" and "Clear the Air" of the Education Bureau) (set out one by one),
(ii) convening closed-door briefings (commonly called "informal briefings"),
(iii) convening press conferences, and
(iv) uploading documents onto the web sites of policy bureaux;
(3) of the respective numbers of occasions on which information was disseminated to the media by the Secretaries of the three aforesaid policy bureaux each year in the period between 2011 and May this year through the following activities (with a tabulated breakdown by policy bureau):
(i) delivering speeches in public functions,
(ii) answering questions from the media when attending public functions,
(iii) releasing articles in specific web pages on the web sites of policy bureaux (e.g. "Insider's Perspective" and "Clear the Air" of the Education Bureau),
(iv) attending closed-door informal briefings,
(v) attending press conferences,
(vi) attending interviews in programmes of electronic media,
(vii) attending exclusive interviews by other media, and
(viii) releasing photographs and press releases on duty visits to the media;
(4) of the existing criteria adopted by the Education Bureau for determining the means through which the Secretary for Education and other officers are to contact the media and disseminate information externally; and
(5) given the criticisms made by some media workers against the practices adopted by the Education Bureau for disseminating information on new policies to the media in recent years (such as deliberately refraining from mentioning certain contents of new policies, selectively disseminating information to individual media, and simply uploading the relevant documents onto the web site of the policy bureau when announcing new policies without actively notifying the media), of the ways in which the Education Bureau will improve the arrangements for disseminating information to the media?
Reply:
President,
Reply to Hon Ip Kin-yuen's question is as follows:
(1) Upon merging with the former Education Department in 2003, the former Education and Manpower Bureau assumed the functions of a bureau and a department. It was renamed Education Bureau (EDB) in 2007. The Information Officer grade of the EDB is responsible for disseminating information to the media. Currently, the EDB has 12 Information Officer grade staff members, including Chief Information Officers, Principal Information Officers, Senior Information Officers, Information Officers and Assistant Information Officers.
The Food and Health Bureau (FHB) has five Information Officer grade staff members at the ranks of Chief Information Officer, Principal Information Officer, Senior Information Officer and Information Officer.
As regards the Labour and Welfare Bureau (LWB), it has five Information Officer grade staff members at the ranks of Chief Information Officer, Principal Information Officer, Senior Information Officer, Information Officer and Assistant Information Officer.
(2) and (3) In its pursuit of "people-based" governance, the Government formulates various policy initiatives with the aim that they can be understood, supported and monitored by the public to better respond to the needs of the community. To this end, the Government, in adhering to the principle of openness and transparency, disseminates its messages to the general public through various media and channels.
The media are a vital bridge between the Government and the community. A lot of government information and messages are conveyed to the general public through the media. Therefore, the Government has all along maintained close contact with the media. Government policy bureaux and departments adopt a proactive and positive approach in the dissemination of information, adhering to the principle of openness and transparency. It is our practice to disseminate public information promptly when announcing major policies and measures, or to update the community on significant incidents. The Government holds press conferences from time to time to explain its policies or decisions, while government officials also respond to media questions at public functions and attend radio and TV interviews and programmes. Additionally, a large number of press releases are issued to provide the public with a better understanding of the work of the Government.
In short, the Government's means of disseminating information through the media include:
1. Press conferences and stand-ups;
2. Press briefings and background briefings;
3. Press releases and transcripts;
4. Blogs, op-ed articles and letters to the editor;
5. Radio phone-in programmes, talk shows and TV programmes;
6. Interviews and visits;
7. Announcements in the Public Interest; and
8. Replies to media enquiries.
The means by which the three policy bureaux disseminated information to the media, with numbers of occasions, are listed in the attachments:
(i) EDB (Annex 1)
(ii) FHB (Annex 2)
(iii) LWB (Annex 3)
(4) and (5) Apart from issuing press releases to the media through the Information Services Department, Government policy bureaux and departments may decide upon the use of other channels for releasing information to the media and the public as considered most appropriate to the needs and circumstances. As the Internet is an effective means for disseminating information, the websites of Government policy bureaux and departments also serve as an important channel for communicating with the public.
The EDB has been adhering to the principle of equity, fairness and openness in releasing public information, including the overall contents of various new policies, through the media. We are open and forthcoming about dissemination of information, whether proactively or in response to media enquiries.
Ends/Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Issued at HKT 14:25
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