Hong Kong's top number-cruncher yesterday revealed the secret of civil service-speak . . . never use one word when 10 will do.
Secretary for Treasury Kwong Ki-chi was surprisingly blunt when talking about the art of diplomacy.
Among his 'golden rules', passed down to all good civil servants the world over, were: always be verbose, use abbreviations to the point of obscurity, never miss an opportunity to use jargon, never use a simple word when an obscure one will suffice; litter speeches and letters with acronyms, and most importantly, never give a direct answer.
He gave Zonta Club members a few examples of diplomatic double-speak during an address yesterday.
When a manager used 'FNA' (for necessary action), he really meant 'LSDL', or let sleeping dogs lie, he said.
And if a school came asking for funds for renovation, any civil servant worth his weight in words would never say 'no'. He would just ask: 'What is the justification for this? what is the basis for the cost estimate? and what are the tangible benefits?' 'You can, of course, ask one question at a time, thus stringing the process out until the building has fallen down,' said Mr Kwong.
