EXPATRIATES in the Legal Aid Department who wish to be employed on local terms will have to pass a Cantonese proficiency test before their applications will be put to the Civil Service Branch.
The department is now working with the Examinations Authority to establish the criteria for the test, which will emphasise the ability to communicate with Chinese clients.
The Governor, Chris Patten, pointed out in his policy speech last month that professional staff in the department often dealt with the public on very personal subjects and hence Chinese speaking skills were an obvious asset.
Policy and Administration Co-ordinator Andrew Leung Kin-pong said the test - hopefully to be in place in January - would be tailor-made for the department based on service need, which is one of the conditions under the new policy allowing overseas agreement officers to switch to local terms.
Mr Leung said as virtually all their clients spoke Chinese, it would be reasonable to require their counsel to be able to understand and speak the language so they could discharge their duties without difficulty or the help of translators.
The format of the test had yet to be decided but they would put more weight on the ability to communicate orally and lesser on writing skills, he added.
