Tsang's undersecretaries continue to underwhelm
One of the most important policy initiatives of Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen's present term has been the appointment of two more layers of political appointees - undersecretaries and political assistants - to the accountability system of principal officials.
The primary aim is to strengthen the government's political capacity. In particular, the main role of the undersecretaries is to help their ministers improve the executive sector's working relationship with the legislature and to establish community-wide support for government policies. One year after the appointment of the eight undersecretaries, it is a good time to evaluate their performance.
Unlike civil servants, political officials need public recognition to do a good job. In July 2008, when the University of Hong Kong public opinion programme conducted a popularity poll of undersecretaries, hardly anyone could name four of them. In April this year, the same survey showed that while some respondents could name six undersecretaries, they accounted for less than 2 per cent of respondents.
Mr Tsang pledged to get his politically appointed officials to reach out to the community, listen to the public's views and work with stakeholders. Apart from the general public, legislators are also a major group of stakeholders. How did our undersecretaries fare in this respect?
Reporting on the work of legislators in the past session, Miriam Lau Kin-yee, chairwoman of the Legislative Council House Committee, did not consider that the undersecretaries had helped improve the working relationship between the executive branch and lawmakers. She criticised several undersecretaries for not answering members' questions or for giving inadequate replies.
To be fair, it is too early to write off the system of undersecretaries. More hands are needed to help deliver the people-based governance pledged by the chief executive and to support principal officials in a more politicised and confrontational legislature.
The government should critically review undersecretaries' performance after their first year. For instance, Greg So Kam-leung, undersecretary of commerce and economic development, learned a bitter lesson about integrity when he submitted his name card as an identity document for his employment contract with a foreign domestic helper.
But, we see in Undersecretary for Food and Health Gabriel Leung a glimmer of hope in an otherwise disappointing year for these appointees from outside the government. Professor Leung did an outstanding job when the first case of swine flu hit Hong Kong.
Undersecretaries who have been the subject of complaints from the public or legislators should accept that politics is a difficult game. A year may be too short for their masters inside the administration to reach a verdict. How they perform in their second year will be critical for the government's popularity and their own survival.
Joseph Wong Wing-ping, formerly secretary for the civil service, is an honorary professor at the University of Hong Kong
