PROFICIENCY in Chinese may be included in a new recruitment scheme which would standardise terms for local and overseas civil servants, the Secretary for the Civil Service, Anson Chan Fang On-sang, told legislators. A recent policy change allows expatriate contract staff to switch to local terms as an interim measure, but Mrs Chan said the Government was heading towards a new, long-term package. The package was intended to remove ''the distinction between local and overseas conditions of service and to work towards a longer-term solution''. ''We have already stated on numerous occasions that we intended to consult interested parties on the longer-term arrangements, and part of these arrangements might well include a language proficiency test,'' she said. ''But we have first of all to determine whether a language proficiency test is desirable and if so at what level it should be pitched.'' Mrs Chan said that up to October 4, a total of 81 overseas contract officers had applied to switch to local terms. The Government was examining all applications and none had been approved so far. Legislator Henry Tang Ying-yen asked why no formal consultation exercise was held before the Government proceeded with the new policy. Mrs Chan said a consultation would mean a moratorium on the localisation policy, which would create a policy vacuum.
