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25 February 2002
Dear Colleagues,
Hong Kong Civil Service Continues to Improve
Some of you may have read recent press reports that according to a survey report published by the Political & Economic Risk Consultancy Ltd, expatriate businessmen in Asia have considered Hong Kong more bureaucratic in 2002 than in 2001. On a scale of zero to 10, with zero being the best grade possible and 10 the worst, Hong Kong scores 3.64, a drop from 3.07 in 2001. The report has suggested that the main causes for this less favourable perception are two-fold. First, businessmen are unhappy with the quality of English spoken in Hong Kong. Second, the HKSAR Government has refused to cut civil service pay at a time when salaries are being slashed in the private sector.
These criticisms are not new. But they serve to remind us that the public image of the civil service can be affected by factors not directly related to the day-to-day delivery of public service. I say this because in the same report, Hong Kong has scored better in 2002 in three other areas, namely, quality of the regulatory environment (from 4.24 to 3.71), civil service efficiency (from 4.00 to 3.26) and responsiveness of the government to business (from 3.29 to 3.26). I have obtained permission from the institution to reproduce the full score chart covering twelve places in Asia as follows :
Dimensions of Bureaucracy
| |
Bureaucracy/red tape
|
Quality of the
regulatory environment |
Civil Service efficiency |
Responsiveness of the
government to business |
| |
2001 |
2002 |
2001 |
2002 |
2001 |
2002 |
2001 |
2002 |
|
China |
7.63 |
8.00 |
6.88 |
8.00 |
6.50 |
8.00 |
5.88 |
5.00 |
|
Hong Kong |
3.07 |
3.64 |
4.24 |
3.71 |
4.00 |
3.26 |
3.29 |
3.26 |
|
India |
8.88 |
9.50 |
7.20 |
7.50 |
6.80 |
7.75 |
7.80 |
9.00 |
|
Indonesia |
8.33 |
9.33 |
9.00 |
8.50 |
9.50 |
8.33 |
8.50 |
8.00 |
|
Japan |
5.50 |
7.00 |
4.50 |
4.00 |
4.00 |
3.33 |
4.00 |
3.00 |
|
Malaysia |
6.50 |
7.00 |
5.50 |
6.00 |
6.00 |
6.86 |
5.00 |
6.43 |
|
Philippines |
8.00 |
8.18 |
7.50 |
7.36 |
6.50 |
8.09 |
8.00 |
7.09 |
|
Singapore |
3.83 |
3.10 |
3.40 |
1.70 |
2.80 |
1.70 |
2.00 |
1.70 |
|
S. Korea |
6.33 |
5.50 |
6.00 |
6.25 |
5.00 |
5.50 |
5.00 |
4.00 |
|
Taiwan |
6.38 |
6.17 |
5.71 |
6.33 |
5.71 |
6.17 |
5.14 |
5.33 |
|
Thailand |
8.18 |
7.89 |
7.50 |
6.78 |
7.90 |
7.56 |
6.50 |
5.33 |
|
Vietnam |
9.50 |
8.13 |
9.75 |
7.50 |
9.75 |
7.88 |
8.75 |
6.00 |
So when all is told, the Hong Kong civil service has been viewed as more effective, efficient and responsive in 2002 than in 2001. No doubt, this is due to the hard work and quality service rendered by the Hong Kong civil service as a whole, particularly our front-line colleagues. Obviously, I note that Singapore has done better than Hong Kong in all areas in the survey. Like a thoroughbred, we should redouble our efforts and achieve better results in the Year of the Horse.
Yours sincrely,
(Joseph W P Wong)
Secretary for the Civil Service
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