There have been continuous changes in the Civil Service since Mr Law began his career, he noted, “Change is inevitable in an institution that is designed to reflect people and society. The most significant change was in 1997 when Hong Kong returned to the motherland and became a Special Administrative Region. That has changed the whole context — now, with ‘One Country, Two Systems’, Hong Kong has its unique status.”

Technology advancement is another major change. When Mr Law first joined the Civil Service, there were no computers, mobile phones, emails or instant communication software. He explained, “The work pace is so much faster now, especially for delivery of service. Another significant change is the rising public expectation on the Civil Service. Before, there was no form of representative government, but now there are elections to select representatives for both the District Councils and the Legislative Council. To adapt to these changes, the Civil Service has to become more responsive, especially to the needs of the community. Nevertheless, although the way of delivery may have changed in the past few decades, the mission of the Government in providing high quality public services to the community remains the same.”

Mr Law’s past experience in the Civil Service has helped him a lot in today’s role. Having worked in a number of departments and bureaux, he has acquired a detailed and thorough understanding of the systems at work within the Government. He clearly comprehends procedures and protocols in the Civil Service as well as the challenges facing it. All these help him champion a level of confidence in assuming the overall policy responsibility for the management of the Civil Service.

Mr Law (first left) visited the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer.

There is a need to maintain a good working environment with teams of happy, dedicated, and highly-motivated staff in the Civil Service nowadays. In his first letter to all colleagues after assuming the post of Secretary for the Civil Service in 2017, Mr Law reinforced his support for civil servants and his determination to enhance partnership and collaboration. He wished to help ease their work pressure, boost morale and foster a stronger sense of belonging amongst staff in order to elevate the efficiency of governance. Mr Law said, “We need to recruit the right people, train and retain them by offering good career prospects. Morale is another important issue, so we also focus on further enhancing the working environment in the Civil Service and see how we could provide better support to staff for discharging their duties.”

Mr Law (first left) exchanged views with the directorate officers of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department in a visit.

Throughout his career in the Civil Service, Mr Law has been working with people of different ages and mindsets. He mentioned, “It is important to maintain a constant and open channel of dialogue between staff of different backgrounds and age groups. We have a well-established staff consultation mechanism at both the central and departmental levels within the Civil Service to maintain effective communication with the staff side. I also meet up with civil servants of different grades from time to time to understand their concerns and needs so that we can adjust our policies to keep up with the times.”

Mr Law (back row, sixth left) met the non-ethnic Chinese university students and local secondary students, who participated in the government internship programme and the "Be a Government Official for a Day" programme.

Mr Law makes it a priority to visit departments regularly to keep abreast of their latest developments and challenges as well as to exchange views directly with frontline staff. So far, he has visited over 40 departments in the past two years, with more earmarked. Meeting managers and talking to frontline staff is a direct way to communicate with colleagues to see how they are working and listen to their concerns and challenges at work. He shared, “I walk around departments, and listen to frontline staff about the difficulties they are facing. The purpose of this is not just to garner feedbacks, but also to build relationships and show appreciation to their work.”

Mr Law added, “There are also regular meetings with individual Heads of Department to review directorate succession plans in the departments. The objective of these meetings is to ensure smooth succession in individual departments and to identify and groom young officers in departments for higher responsibilities. It also provides a useful platform for me, as Secretary for the Civil Service, to understand from the relevant Heads of Department management issues pertaining to individual departments and get a good feel of how they are doing.”

Mr Law (second right), and the Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan (second left), visited the United Christian Nethersole Community Health Service Medical Centre to learn more about the Chinese medicine specialist services.

Meeting demands with limited resources is always a challenge for the Civil Service. Mr Law recognises this challenge for policymakers and has always seen it within the Government; whether that be financial, time or human resources.

The Civil Service has seen a substantial increase in headcount by about 3.7% in the last financial year, compared to the stable growth level of about 1% to 2% in past ten years. This considerable increase has provided a pool of talents to help support the implementation of key initiatives and new measures of the Government and to ease the work pressure on civil servants.

Mr Law pointed out, “The Civil Service by no means operates within a vacuum, and must always look both outwards — at the needs of the public and public opinion, as well as inwards — at the needs of different bureaux and departments. We are also aware of growing threats in the global and local economy, and we must be flexible to meet these challenges. Changes may be necessary subject to adjusted policies or review in manpower requirements. Rationalisation and redeployment of resources is also an ongoing process.”

Another challenge includes balancing well-established, long-standing policies and preserving their integrity whilst finding new breakthroughs to help meet new demands. Mr Law detailed one such breakthrough that he was particularly proud of, “All along, the Government as the employer provides medical and dental care for civil servants through the Department of Health and the Hospital Authority. We have always endeavoured to enhance these benefits and one recent breakthrough is the inclusion of Chinese medicine services as part of the civil service medical benefits. We will launch a pilot scheme in the first quarter of 2020. I trust that civil servants and their dependents will welcome this new service.”

Mr Law highlighted, “The Civil Service is a permanent, meritocratic and professional institution. Civil servants are expected to uphold a number of well-established core values including commitment to the rule of law, honesty and integrity, objectivity and impartiality, dedication, etc. And it is also important that they maintain political neutrality.” He added, “Civil servants should not allow their own personal party political beliefs to determine or influence the discharge of their official duties and responsibilities, including the advice they give and the decisions or actions they take. Integrity is another important core value of the Civil Service. They shall ensure that no actual, perceived or potential conflict of interest shall arise between their official duties and private interests. They also must not use their official position to further personal interests.” Mr Law also stressed, “Colleagues should remember that it has consistently been the duty of civil servants to uphold the Basic Law and be loyal to the HKSAR.”

Mr Law (left) chatted with a colleague to know more about the assistance provided by the Inland Revenue Department to help the disabled integrate into the workplace during a visit.

In recent years, the public expectation has increased and the political environment has become more complicated. Yet civil service jobs remain generally attractive to job seekers. For instance, Mr Law noted that every civil service job vacancy received an average of 50 applications in the past three years and in particular, for the vacancies of Administrative Officer, over 12 000 applications were received this year. He elaborated, “We regularly review our pay policy to ensure that sufficient remuneration is offered to attract, retain and motivate staff of a suitable calibre to provide the public with an effective and efficient service. This is achieved through three different types of survey conducted under the Improved Civil Service Pay Adjustment Mechanism implemented since 2007, which ensures that our pay package maintains broad comparability with private sector pay.”

Mr Law continued, “Training is also of paramount importance in the Civil Service for equipping civil servants with the necessary knowledge and skills to face challenges ahead and meet increasing public expectations on public services. We are pleased that a site in Kwun Tong has been identified for establishing a new civil service college, which is expected to be completed in 2026. With upgraded training facilities, the college aims to further enhance training for civil servants in the areas of leadership development, interaction and communication with the public, innovation, use of technology, national studies and the Basic Law. To enhance their awareness of global affairs, the college will also be tasked to promote exchanges with civil servants in other places.” Having worked in New York and Geneva in his early years, Mr Law fully understands the value that such exposure can bring to aspiring civil servants. Mr Law added, “With more and more offices established outside Hong Kong in recent years, we also aim to enhance the working exposure of civil servants. Colleagues should make the most out of these postings when the opportunity arises.”

Mr Law (centre) visited the site of the upcoming civil service college in Kwun Tong.

Mr Law enjoyed music from a very young age, learning the piano, violin, viola and later the pipe organ. He shared, “I’m thankful to my parents for giving me the chance to learn instruments in the early years.” He has an electronic organ at home and in his spare time, he serves as a regular church organist, playing twice a month. He also enjoys photography, especially of wildlife, although he no longer has much time for that due to his busy schedule now.

Regarding the Civil Service, Mr Law described, “It’s a microcosm of society, and so it’s natural that civil servants might be facing similar pressures and concerns as the rest in society in recent months. I greatly appreciate that civil servants remain professional and dedicated. Even during these difficult times, colleagues have continued to hold the fort and serve the community with devotion and dedication. Despite having to travel long hours to work when the public transport system or road traffic was affected, many colleagues attended to their duties steadfastly in order to minimise the impact on public services. I am really proud of them.”

Mr Law also stressed the importance of cherishing Hong Kong’s hard-won achievements over the years and maintaining the stability and prosperity of Hong Kong. Mr Law said, “I look upon all colleagues to continue to put up professional, effective and quality services for the people of Hong Kong. Let’s work together to build a better Hong Kong, for this and the future generations.”