Civil Service Newsletter Editorial Board
As a fresh graduate of the University of Hong Kong, Mrs Chu became a civil servant in 1979. Back then, many university graduates wished to join the civil service because of its attractive salary and job security. But getting in was another matter. Mrs Chu noted, “It was extremely competitive at that time, hence once you got appointed as a civil servant, it was a sense of pride for you and your family.”
Mrs Chu described herself as a person of freedom and adventure, and did not prefer staying in one place for too long or doing the same thing all the time. So joining the civil service as an Executive Officer (EO) with job rotation to a wide range of roles and many career development opportunities was a perfect fit for her. During her tenure, Mrs Chu was posted to different bureaux / departments with exposure to a wide variety of work disciplines such as human resources management, financial management, staff relations and events management.
One of her most memorable work experiences was during the time when Mrs Chu worked in the Handover Office between 1996 and 1997. Starting out with only six people, the Handover Office eventually developed into a team of over 100 staff and oversaw the setting up of the venue for the handover ceremony at the new wing of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai. She noted, “It was indeed a memorable moment for everyone in Hong Kong, and being able to be involved in helping to organise the ceremony was really a challenging assignment for me. So glad that everything was rolled out smoothly and successfully throughout the event, and I really felt like we were engaged in the handover. All of our hard work was truly worth it.” Mrs Chu quipped that she only had one minor regret - the torrential rain on the day of the handover, though it turned out that only a couple of less important items on the plan had to be skipped.
In 2013 when Mrs Chu was posted to the Event Coordination Team of the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, she was sent to Bali to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting to gain experience for preparing the next APEC Finance Ministers’ meeting to be held in Hong Kong. This was her first overseas duty trip, and she was tasked to gather information on how the meeting should be set up, making reference to the protocols used in Bali to make the meeting in Hong Kong a success. Over the course of eight months, the Team developed into a team of twenty more staff and worked closely with Beijing for necessary preparation work, until it was ultimately decided that the meeting would be held in Beijing instead of Hong Kong. Mrs Chu said, “It was a wonderful experience in my working life. Although we met various unexpected setbacks, we worked very well as a team at that time, and we still meet together every year for a chat.”
Her adventures continued and right before retirement, Mrs Chu took on the creative sectors through working at the CreateHK as Assistant Head, being responsible for the promotion and development of multiple disciplines related to the creative industries, including architecture, advertising, design, entertainment, music, printing, publishing and television broadcasting. She said, “This posting offered me great learning opportunities as everything was new to me, and I became much more familiar with the creative industries.”
Over the following two years, Mrs Chu participated and supported numerous creative projects such as the “Microfilm + Music Promotion Support Scheme”, “My 10 Most LIKED Hong Kong Architecture of the Century”, Hong Kong Design Centre Fashion Incubation Programme, Hong Kong Book Fair and the DFA Design for Asia Award, etc. She frequently jetted overseas and to the Mainland to officiate at the opening ceremonies of the creative projects. Besides, she engaged with various media and chaired meetings on topics relatively new to her. Although she did not have a background related to creative industry, she remained stoic and noted, “Instead of getting nervous at the meetings, I paid attention to what was being presented, drew up a few salient points and then asked pertinent questions, with a view to gathering diverse views from different parties, and finally came up with a consensual decision.”
When she was about to retire in 2016, Mrs Chu had no particular retirement plans because her final years working at the CreateHK were so busy. After retirement, she did not take up any post-retirement civil service employment and instead, she started dedicating more time to “Sogetsu Ikebana” - the Japanese floral design which she had been practising part-time for thirty-six years. Mrs Chu explained, “ ‘Sogetsu Ikebana’ emphasises creativity and open-mindedness and you can use any kind of materials besides flowers. This is a unique art form with deep philosophy behind; we view the floral arrangement as a living thing, where nature and humanity are brought together in harmony. It is steeped in the philosophy of developing closeness to nature. When I was working in the civil service, I developed my interest in ‘Ikebana’ as I was fascinated by its spirit and philosophy, as well as the emphasis on the use of space, line, colour and mass during the design process. After completing a series of studies and assessments over the years, I attained the highest qualification of Sogetsu Teacher’s Diploma 1st Grade Riji in 2017 shortly after my retirement.”
In 2017, Mrs Chu had the opportunity to set up an Ikebana studio, initially aiming at having a place where she could get together with her like-minded friends, who also had a passion for “Ikebana”, to share experiences and exchange skills and techniques. Mrs Chu explained, “I enjoy floral design and also love teaching ‘Ikebana’. I am glad that I can dedicate more time to this after retirement. As I moved along, I realised that I could also pass on my knowledge and skills in ‘Ikebana’ to the next generation by conducting classes and workshops.” Yet facing the typical challenges of a new start-up business in Hong Kong, Mrs Chu also had to contend with the high rental cost and related expenses for the studio while starting out with just a handful of students in the beginning. Spurred on by her students’ enthusiasm, Mrs Chu’s classes now attract over 50 students. She found that especially during the epidemic, more people look for a sense of ritual, and this is precisely what the practice of “Ikebana” can offer them, which helped develop her studio successfully and transform her hobby into a second career.
Stepping it up a notch, Mrs Chu became the Chairperson of the Hong Kong Branch of the Sogetsu Teachers’ Association, a non-profit organisation of which she had been a member since 1989, with over a hundred members in Hong Kong. The Association organises activities such as Ikebana workshops, seminars and the Hong Kong Sogetsu Ikebana Annual Exhibition. Mrs Chu added, “Due to the epidemic, we have been conducting on-line workshops and meetings in the past two years. We have tried our best to do something different and adapt to the situation, and fortunately the on-line arrangements are well-received by participants including those overseas.”
The past two years, in particular, have seen growing challenges for civil servants at all levels in the Government. With the benefit of hindsight from her three-decade-plus civil service tenure and wisdom gleaned from retired life, Mrs Chu encouraged civil service colleagues to foster a “let-go attitude”. She explained, “I would encourage my colleagues not to bring home their work stress, but always maintain work-life balance and keep healthy. Whenever I finish work and return home, I am a wife and a mother — always make time for your family and relax over the weekend.” She added, “As a team head while in service, whenever I noticed any of my colleagues feeling a bit down and stressed, I would encourage them not to bury their problems but to speak out and seek help from the supervisors or teammates. Challenges and problems can always be worked out as a team. Health, in both physical and psychological terms, is also of high importance for all colleagues irrespective of age.”
As parting advice, Mrs Chu said, “Know your own abilities and accept your limitations. It is good to be an all-rounder as a civil servant, such as an Executive Officer, but no one is 100% all-rounded. So, just make your best efforts. As a supervisor, we should also know the abilities of our colleagues and leverage each colleague’s unique strengths to bring out their best.”
