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New team of Principal Officials appointed (with photos)
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     The Central People's Government, on the nomination of the Chief Executive-elect, Mrs Carrie Lam, today (June 21) approved the appointments of Principal Officials of the fifth term of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government.

     The 16 Principal Officials appointed under the political appointment system are on non-civil service terms. They are:

     Secretaries of Departments
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     Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung
     Financial Secretary, Mr Paul MP Chan
     Secretary for Justice, Mr Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung, SC

     Directors of Bureaux
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     Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau Tang-wah
     Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing
     Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Lau Kong-wah
     Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Mr Nicholas W Yang
     Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr James Henry Lau Jr
     Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Law Chi-kwong
     Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Joshua Law Chi-kong
     Secretary for Security, Mr John Lee Ka-chiu
     Secretary for Transport and Housing, Mr Frank Chan Fan
     Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan Siu-chee
     Secretary for Development, Mr Michael Wong Wai-lun
     Secretary for Education, Mr Kevin Yeung Yun-hung
     Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip Tak-kuen

     Also appointed today are five Principal Officials heading the disciplined services, the Independent Commission Against Corruption and the Audit Commission in the fifth term of the HKSAR Government. They are the Commissioner, Independent Commission Against Corruption, Mr Simon Peh Yun-lu; the Commissioner of Police, Mr Lo Wai-chung; the Director of Audit, Mr David Sun Tak-kei; the Director of Immigration, Mr Erick Tsang Kwok-wai; and the Commissioner of Customs and Excise, Mr Hermes Tang Yi-hoi.

     In addition, the Government announced the appointment of Mr Chan Kwok-ki as the Director of the Chief Executive's Office.

     Following are the biographical notes on the appointed officials:

Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung
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     Aged 66. Mr Cheung has been Chief Secretary for Administration since January 2017.

     He joined the Hong Kong Government as an Information Officer in July 1972. He transferred to the Administrative Service in September 1979 and was promoted to Administrative Officer Staff Grade A1 in September 2004. He has served in various policy bureaux and departments, including the former Finance Branch, the Home Affairs Department, the former City and New Territories Administration, the former Government House, the former Industry Department, the former Trade Department, the Financial Secretary's Office, the Judiciary and the Central Policy Unit. He became Commissioner for Labour in January 1999, Director of Education in June 2000 and Permanent Secretary for Economic Development and Labour in July 2002. He was Secretary for Labour and Welfare from July 2007 to January 2017.

Mr Paul MP Chan
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     Aged 62. Mr Chan has been Financial Secretary since January 2017.

     He had over 30 years' experience in the accounting sector and had worked in the Inland Revenue Department, the former Construction Industry Training Authority, a listed company and accountancy firms. Mr Chan became an elected member of the Legislative Council representing the Accountancy Constituency in 2008. He was Secretary for Development from July 2012 to January 2017. Mr Chan is a former President of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants and a former Chairman of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, Hong Kong. He also held a number of public service positions, including Chairman of the Legal Aid Services Council, Board Member of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, non-official member of the Commission on Strategic Development and Council Member of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Mr Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung, SC
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     Aged 53. Mr Yuen has been Secretary for Justice since July 2012.

     He was a barrister in private practice before joining the Government, specialising in commercial disputes. He also served as an arbitrator in international arbitration and a mediator in commercial disputes.

     Mr Yuen was appointed Senior Counsel in 2003 and Recorder of the Court of First Instance of the High Court in 2006.

     Mr Yuen has also served in various public duties, including as member of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission (which Mr Yuen continues to serve in his current capacity as Secretary for Justice), non-official member of the Independent Commission Against Corruption Advisory Committee on Corruption, Chairman of the Transport Advisory Committee, Non-executive Director of the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority and Council Member of the Hong Kong Institute of Education.

Mr Edward Yau Tang-wah
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     Aged 57. Mr Yau has been Director of the Chief Executive's Office since July 2012.

     Mr Yau joined the Government's Administrative Service in 1981 and was promoted to Administrative Officer Staff Grade B1 in April 2005. He held positions in various policy bureaux and departments, including the former Security Branch, the former City and New Territories Administration, the former Health and Welfare Branch, the former Transport Branch, the Correctional Services Department and the former Treasury Branch. He became Deputy Director-General of Trade (later renamed Deputy Director-General of Trade and Industry) in January 1999, Director-General of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Washington, DC, in May 2001, Deputy Secretary for Education and Manpower in April 2004 and Director of Information Services in April 2006. He was appointed as Secretary for the Environment in July 2007.

Mr Wong Kam-sing
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     Aged 53. Mr Wong has been Secretary for the Environment since July 2012.

     He was a professional architect before joining the Government. He was Associate and then Project Director of Anthony Ng Architects Limited from 1991 to 2003 and was promoted to the position of Director of Sustainable Design and Studio Director of Ronald Lu & Partners Limited from early 2003 to June 2012. He has been Vice-President of the Hong Kong Institute of Architects, Chairman of the Professional Green Building Council and Vice-Chairman of the Hong Kong Green Building Council, Member of the Support Group on "Building Design to Foster a Quality and Sustainable Built Environment" and Convenor of the Support Group on "Combating Climate Change: Energy Saving and Carbon Emission Reduction in Buildings" of the Council for Sustainable Development.

Mr Lau Kong-wah
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     Aged 59. Mr Lau has been Secretary for Home Affairs since July 2015.

     He became an elected District Councillor in Sha Tin in 1985 and was re-elected until 2003. He became an elected Sha Tin District Councillor again in 2011. He was a member of the Legislative Council from January 1997 to September 2012 and a member of the Executive Council from October 2008 to June 2012. He was Under Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs from December 2012 to July 2015.

Mr Nicholas W Yang
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     Aged 62. Mr Yang has been Secretary for Innovation and Technology since November 2015.

     Mr Yang pursued his career in the United States in his early years. After returning to Hong Kong in 1983, he joined Shell Electric Mfg (Holdings) Limited and worked as Executive Director and Deputy Group Managing Director until August 1999. He took up various posts in several technology, venture capital and private equity firms from 1999 to 2003. Mr Yang worked as Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited from October 2003 to February 2010. He was Executive Vice President of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University from March 2010 to February 2015. He was appointed as Non-official Member of the Executive Council and Advisor to the Chief Executive on Innovation and Technology in March 2015.

Mr James Henry Lau Jr
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     Aged 67. Mr Lau has been Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury since January 2014.

     Mr Lau joined the Hong Kong Government as an Administrative Officer (AO) in 1979 and was promoted through the ranks to AO Staff Grade C in April 1988. He joined the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) in April 1993 and was the Head and Executive Director of various divisions of the HKMA until 2004.

     In July 2004, Mr Lau was seconded to the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation as Chief Executive Officer until he retired in December 2012.

Mr Law Chi-kwong
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     Aged 63. Mr Law has been teaching in the Department of Social Work (later renamed Department of Social Work and Social Administration) of the University of Hong Kong since 1981 and is currently an associate professor. He was the Head of the department from 1993 to 1997. He was a member of the Legislative Council from 1995 to 1997 and from 1998 to 2004.

     Mr Law holds a number of public offices, including Chairman of the Community Care Fund Task Force, member of the Commission on Poverty, member of the Commission on Strategic Development and member of the Statistics Advisory Board.

Mr Joshua Law Chi-kong
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     Aged 60. Mr Law has been Permanent Secretary for Security since July 2012.

     Mr Law joined the Government's Administrative Service in September 1980 and rose to his present rank of Administrative Officer Staff Grade A1 in September 2005. He has served in various bureaux and departments including the former Urban Services Department, the former Office of the Unofficial Members of the Executive and Legislative Councils, the former City and New Territories Administration, the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in New York, the former Lands and Works Branch, the former Works Branch, the former Constitutional Affairs Branch, the former Civil Service Branch and the former Education and Manpower Branch. He became Private Secretary to the Chief Executive in July 1997, Director-General of Trade (later renamed Director-General of Trade and Industry) in August 1999, Permanent Representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China to the World Trade Organization in September 2002, and Permanent Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works (Transport) (later renamed Permanent Secretary for Transport and Housing (Transport)) in August 2004. Mr Law became Permanent Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs in July 2007.

Mr John Lee Ka-chiu
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     Aged 59. Mr Lee has been Under Secretary for Security since September 2012.

     He joined the Hong Kong Police Force in 1977 as a Probationary Inspector. He was promoted to Chief Superintendent in July 1997, Assistant Commissioner in May 2003, Senior Assistant Commissioner in January 2007 and Deputy Commissioner in September 2010. He has held a variety of posts including Assistant Commissioner (Crime) and Director of Crime and Security, and Deputy Commissioner (Management).

Mr Frank Chan Fan
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     Aged 59. Mr Chan has been Director of Electrical and Mechanical Services since December 2011 and Electrical and Mechanical Services Trading Fund General Manager.

     Mr Chan joined the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department as an Assistant Electronics Engineer in August 1982. He was promoted to Chief Electronics Engineer in February 2001 and to Government Electrical and Mechanical Engineer in May 2005. He was appointed as Deputy Director of Electrical and Mechanical Services in January 2009.

Professor Sophia Chan Siu-chee
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     Aged 59, Professor Chan has been Under Secretary for Food and Health since November 2012.

     Prior to joining the Government, she was a Professor of Nursing and Head of Department of the University of Hong Kong (HKU)'s Department of Nursing Studies/Head of the School of Nursing. She was also Assistant Dean of the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine and Deputy Director of the Public Health Research Centre of HKU, and has been a consultant to the World Health Organization. 

Mr Michael Wong Wai-lun
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     Aged 54. Mr Wong has been Permanent Secretary for Development (Planning and Lands) since August 2015.

     He joined the Government's Administrative Service in August 1985 and rose to his present rank of Administrative Officer Staff Grade A1 in April 2017. He has served in various bureaux and departments, including the former City and New Territories Administration, the former Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority, the former Legal Department, the Central Policy Unit, the former Trade and Industry Branch, the former Business and Services Promotion Unit, the former Economic Services Bureau, the Security Bureau and the former Economic Development and Labour Bureau. He became Deputy Secretary for Education in July 2007, Director of Information Services in August 2009 and Director of Marine in February 2014.

Mr Kevin Yeung Yun-hung
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     Aged 54. Mr Yeung has been Under Secretary for Education since November 2012.

     He had worked in the private sector for seven years before joining the Government as an Administrative Officer in November 1992. He was promoted to Administrative Officer Staff Grade C in July 2004.

     Mr Yeung has worked in a number of bureaux and departments, including the Food and Health Bureau, the Home Affairs Bureau, the Kowloon City District Office and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Sydney.

Mr Patrick Nip Tak-kuen
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     Aged 52. Mr Nip has been Permanent Secretary for Food and Health (Health) since July 2016.

     He joined the Government's Administrative Service in August 1986 and rose to his present rank of Administrative Officer Staff Grade A in April 2011. The career of Mr Nip has spanned a wide range of policy bureaux and departments including the former City and New Territories Administration, the former Deputy Chief Secretary's Office, the former Trade and Industry Branch, the former Finance Branch, the former Civil Service Branch, the former Trade Department, the Chief Executive's Office, the former Health and Welfare Bureau, the Office of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in Beijing and the former Health, Welfare and Food Bureau. He became Director of Social Welfare in August 2009; Director (Special Duties), Chief Secretary for Administration's Private Office in June 2013 and Director of Information Services in February 2014.

Mr Simon Peh Yun-lu
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     Aged 61. Mr Peh has been Commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption since July 2012.

     He joined the Immigration Department as an Immigration Officer in April 1978. He was promoted to Chief Immigration Officer in February 1991, to Assistant Principal Immigration Officer in October 1995 and to Principal Immigration Officer in June 2000. He was promoted to Assistant Director of Immigration in June 2004 and Deputy Director of Immigration in September 2006. He was Director of Immigration from April 2008 to March 2011.

Mr Lo Wai-chung
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     Aged 55. Mr Lo has been Commissioner of Police since May 2015.

     He joined the Hong Kong Police Force in July 1984 as a Probationary Inspector. He was promoted to Chief Superintendent in June 2005, Assistant Commissioner in October 2009 and Senior Assistant Commissioner in January 2011. In August 2013 he was appointed as a Deputy Commissioner taking up the post of Deputy Commissioner (Operations) and then in September 2014, he took up the post of Deputy Commissioner (Management). During his career he has held a variety of posts in the Police Force, including in the fields of criminal investigations, security and operations as well as management work. These posts have included Assistant Commissioner (Security) from October 2009 to January 2011 and Director of Crime and Security from January 2011 to August 2013. He has also been seconded to the INTERPOL General Secretariat in Lyon, France, between October 1999 and June 2002, first as a Liaison Officer and subsequently he was promoted within this organisation to serve as the Assistant Director heading the INTERPOL Asia and South Pacific Branch.

Mr David Sun Tak-kei
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     Aged 63. Mr Sun has been Director of Audit since July 2012.

     He joined Ernst & Young in 1977 and was Far East Area Chairman when he retired in 2010. Mr Sun is a former President of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants, a former Chairman of the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Advisory Committee and a former Chairman of the Council of the City University of Hong Kong. He is a fellow member of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Mr Erick Tsang Kwok-wai
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     Aged 53. Mr Tsang has been Director of Immigration since April 2016.

     He joined the Immigration Department as an Assistant Immigration Officer in April 1987. He was promoted to Chief Immigration Officer in December 2004, Assistant Principal Immigration Officer in June 2007 and Principal Immigration Officer in July 2009. He became Assistant Director of Immigration in July 2012 and Deputy Director of Immigration in July 2014.

Mr Hermes Tang Yi-hoi
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     Aged 52. Mr Tang has been Deputy Commissioner of Customs and Excise since January 2016.

     He joined the Immigration Department as an Immigration Assistant in 1985 and the Customs and Excise Department as a Probationary Inspector in 1987. He was seconded to the Security Bureau from 2006 to 2007. He was promoted to Superintendent in January 2009, Senior Superintendent in August 2011, Chief Superintendent in May 2013, Assistant Commissioner of Customs and Excise in May 2015 and Deputy Commissioner in August 2016.

Mr Chan Kwok-ki
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     Aged 58. Mr Chan has been Director of Chief Executive-elect's Office since May 2017.

     He joined the Immigration Department in October 1982 as an Assistant Immigration Officer and was promoted to Chief Immigration Officer in December 2000, Assistant Principal Immigration Officer in January 2003 and Principal Immigration Officer in August 2004. He became Assistant Director of Immigration in April 2007 and Deputy Director of Immigration in March 2010. He was Director of Immigration from March 2011 to April 2016.
 
Ends/Wednesday, June 21, 2017
Issued at HKT 10:45
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Today's Press Releases  

Photo

Chief Secretary for Administration (designate), Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung.
Financial Secretary (designate), Mr Paul MP Chan.
Secretary for Justice (designate), Mr Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung, SC.
Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development (designate), Mr Edward Yau Tang-wah.
Secretary for the Environment (designate), Mr Wong Kam-sing.
Secretary for Home Affairs (designate), Mr Lau Kong-wah.
Secretary for Innovation and Technology (designate), Mr Nicholas W Yang.
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury (designate), Mr James Henry Lau Jr.
Secretary for Labour and Welfare (designate), Mr Law Chi-kwong.
Secretary for the Civil Service (designate), Mr Joshua Law Chi-kong.
Secretary for Security (designate), Mr John Lee Ka-chiu.
Secretary for Transport and Housing (designate), Mr Frank Chan Fan.
Secretary for Food and Health (designate), Professor Sophia Chan Siu-chee.
Secretary for Development (designate), Mr Michael Wong Wai-lun.
Secretary for Education (designate), Mr Kevin Yeung Yun-hung.
Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs (designate), Mr Patrick Nip Tak-kuen.
The Commissioner, Independent Commission Against Corruption (designate), Mr Simon Peh Yun-lu.
The Commissioner of Police (designate), Mr Lo Wai-chung.
The Director of Audit (designate), Mr David Sun Tak-kei.
The Director of Immigration (designate), Mr Erick Tsang Kwok-wai.
The Commissioner of Customs and Excise (designate), Mr Hermes Tang Yi-hoi.
The Director of the Chief Executive's Office (designate), Mr Chan Kwok-ki.