Q2 – Under Secretaries and Political Assistants
MR CHAN CHUN-YING (in Cantonese):
President, the selection of Under Secretaries or Political Assistants is, after all, different from the traditional way of selection of Administrative Officers, and their work experiences are different too. In order to enable Under Secretaries or Political Assistants to play a more effective role in the relevant Policy Bureaux, will the Government deploy them to only work on a specialized policy area rather than posting them across Policy Bureaux as in the case of civil servants?
SECRETARY FOR CONSTITUTIONAL AND MAINLAND AFFAIRS (in Cantonese):
President, I thank Mr CHAN for his supplementary question. Politically appointed officials work in certain Policy Bureaux because they are familiar with the relevant work or they may have the relevant background; however, must they work in particular Policy Bureaux without being subject to posting arrangements? This may not necessarily be the case. We have seen from some examples in the past that some Political Assistants or Under Secretaries would be engaged in different areas of work. So we should not make a sweeping generalization.
Nevertheless, policy formulation, implementation and lobbying have currently become more diversified and complex, if those concerned can grasp different situations, it will be very helpful to their work in various policy areas. Therefore, it is very important to broaden their horizons. I have also mentioned in the main reply that the relevant training is expected to broaden the horizons of the officials concerned.