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The Government announced today (July 24) the appointment of Mr Allan Chiang Yam-wang as the new Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (Privacy Commissioner) for a term of five years commencing August 4, 2010.
The appointment is made by the Chief Executive under section 5 of the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (PDPO) and Mr Chiang has accepted the appointment.
Mr Chiang, aged 59, was the Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong Design Centre from 2007 to 2009. Before that, he served in the Government for 33 years and was the Postmaster General from 2003 to 2006.
A government spokesman said, ˇ§Mr Chiang has rich experience in public administration. He served in senior public positions and possesses proven leadership, management and communication skills. Mr Chiang has a clear vision about the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD). With his commitment, experience and knowledge, he is well placed to perform the roles of the Privacy Commissioner. We are confident that under his leadership, the Office of the PCPD will strive to promote the protection of personal data privacy in the community.
"The term of office of the incumbent, Mr Roderick Woo, will expire on July 31, 2010. During his tenure, Mr Woo has made very important contributions to the protection of personal data privacy in Hong Kong. In particular, he has taken steps to strengthen the enforcement of the PDPO and initiated inspections and investigations of major personal data systems of concern to the public in order to facilitate their compliance with the PDPO. He has also conducted a comprehensive review of the PDPO having regard to developments in the last decade. We express our sincere appreciation to Mr Woo for his service."
An open recruitment exercise was conducted earlier this year to select the new Privacy Commissioner and a Selection Board was appointed to consider the candidates and make recommendation to the Chief Executive. The Selection Board was chaired by Mrs Laura Cha, and its members comprised Professor Lawrence Lau Juen-yee, Dr Elizabeth Shing Shiu-ching and the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs. In line with the practice of open recruitment for senior positions, the Government had engaged an executive search firm to carry out the recruitment exercise.
Ends/Saturday, July 24, 2010
Issued at HKT 09:00
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