Government spin doctors have almost doubled their spending on media training in the past five years and have increased the number of media gatekeepers by more than 20 per cent.
In the first eight months of this year, 38 information officers at the Information Services Department (ISD) were trained at a cost of HK$158,000, up from HK$116,000 last year and almost double the HK$82,000 spent in 2007.
This trend of boosting the resources of the ISD, which controls all official information released to the media, shows a concerted effort by the government to improve its public image.
In recent weeks, senior government officials and the police have faced severe public criticism for the security and media restrictions during Vice-Premier Li Keqiang's visit to Hong Kong last month, with claims that the city's autonomy and freedom of expression had been undermined.
ISD director Michael Wong Wai-lun declined to answer questions about whether he felt government information officers were adequately trained to deal with the media, in light of Li's visit, or if the department's approach to the media had changed in recent years.
An ISD spokesman said, however, that all information officers were 'providing good services to clients and the media'.