Concern over privacy chief's departure
The sudden departure of Privacy Commissioner Stephen Lau Ka-men puts the independence of the Privacy Commissioner's Office under question. The Government has not yet found a candidate to fill the post and Mr Lau's reluctance to explain his departure further undermines public confidence in the office's independence.
History repeats itself. In 1998, Andrew So Kwok-wing ended his tenure as Ombudsman, despite considerable public support for him and his own stated wish to remain in office. Speculation was rife that his eagerness to investigate into government maladministration led to him not being re-appointed.
In Hong Kong, it is necessary to have statutory bodies - the Ombudsman's Office, Privacy Commissioner's Office and the Equal Opportunities Commission - with power to challenge the Government's decisions if its officers act unreasonably or the policy is unfair. To build up public trust in these bodies, their independence has to be promoted.
However, the current appointment system fails to address this. The appointment of their heads is decided solely by the Chief Executive. It raises fears that the post holders may not challenge the Government when they are at the mercy of the Chief Executive.
Worse still, judging from the departure of Andrew So and Stephen Lau, our worries are not totally unfounded. Recently, a bill was tabled in the Legislative Council seeking to establish the Ombudsman as a separate corporate entity.
While I welcome the Government's initiative, I note that the bill does not change the provision governing the appointment of the Ombudsman.
One solution is that when the Chief Executive announces his choice to head one of these bodies, an open hearing should be conducted in Legco and his or her appointment should be subject to Legco's endorsement, similar to the appointment under the Basic Law of the judges of the Court of Final Appeal and the Chief Judge of the High Court.
To dispel fears and restore public confidence, the Government has to explain clearly the reasons for Mr Lau's departure and reform its appointment system of statutory bodies as soon as possible.
LAI WING-YIU
Sai Ying Poon
