5-Year Plan on 1823, governance & civil service system

The Five-Year Plan also sets sights on improving governance and the civil service system.

Among the measures introduced in the current administration's last Policy Address is to optimise the 1823 government hotline which handles public service requests and complaints.

A key focus of the city's maiden Five-Year Plan is to "adopt a holistic approach to development and security" and "enhance public governance efficacy."

It underscores the need to improve the civil service system and implement the principle of patriots governing Hong Kong.

This includes improving the civil service training management system, with regular training collaboration mechanism with mainland units.

To be optimised too are the civil service performance appraisal system and the principal officials' accountability mechanism as well as the fairness in giving out rewards and meting out punishments.

Chief Executive JOHN LEE: "The consideration is the same for all governments when they think of what indicators to set. There are binding ones because this means these are the things that we must do and we must achieve it. And there are some anticipatory ones -- hope that everybody will join it and make their best efforts."

Among the targets is to improve the 1823 government hotline.

In the first seven months of this year, the hotline received over 1.4 million calls and more than 600,000 written requests.

The government acknowledges there is room for improvement in cross-departmental handling of public complaints.

The goal is to ensure "prompt referral and successful resolution."

A lead department will be designated to coordinate the handling of inter-departmental service requests and complaints.

Departments will handle cases within their respective purview and report on case progress.

If there are any issues encountered, they should be reported promptly to the Chief Secretary for Administration.

HK Resident from France SAMUEL DEMARAIS: "I think that if someone is accountable, obviously you have a faster turnaround time, and you have probably fastest action."

To "proactively and efficiently address district governance issues", the Five-Year Plan proposes to refine the high-level coordination mechanism across all bureaux and departments.

It also aims to deepen the collaboration among the district councils, care teams and the three district committees.

The Policy Address also recommends introducing a three-tier mechanism for handling building disputes next year, with district councillors being the first level to intervene.

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Government Source:

City Governance

Set up an "AI City Brain" integrated city management system

• Set up an "AI City Brain" integrated city management system, linking big data about government works, environment, transportation and emergency response, etc., creating a data sharing environment for multi-directional empowerment, enabling departments to receive real-time information and enhancing their capabilities in day-to-day city management and handling emergencies.

• Set up a Task Force on "AI City Brain" System to examine and develop the "AI City Brain" system.

• The digital infrastructure of the Security Bureau's Emergency Monitoring and Support Centre to be integrated into the system in the first phase.

Accelerate the replacement and repair of water pipes, and leverage technology to improve water supply reliability

• Launch a water supply network upgrading programme:

  • Replace or rehabilitate 350 kilometres of aged water mains with higher risks of leakage over the coming five years, at an average rate of 70 kilometres per year, double that for 2026-27, and focus on areas such as Shau Kei Wan, Wong Tai Sin and Kwai Tsing.

  • Establish an Intelligent Water Network Closed-loop Management Chain and perform AI predictive maintenance.

Enhance 1823 services with the goal of achieving "prompt referral and successful resolution":

• A lead department to be designated and authorised to co-ordinate the handling of inter-departmental service requests and complaints.

• Each department to assign a directorate officer to monitor its efficiency and effectiveness in handling service requests and complaints lodged by members of the public.

• Leverage AI technology to identify recurrent problems for departments to review and formulate targeted solutions, shifting from "post-complaint management" to a proactive approach.

• The Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration to review the implementation progress of the new initiative regularly and brief the Steering Committee on District Governance.

Optimise government services through "AI+"

• Improve public rental housing estate management and service quality using AI technologies.

• The Hospital Authority will use AI to facilitate service arrangement and reduce average time to triage.

• Expand drone application in emergency response and crime prevention to protect citizens.