Editorial | Hong Kong civil service moves to benefit Greater Bay Area
- Exchange programmes involving city and mainland officers are aimed at improving understanding and cooperation in the integrated economic and business hub
Young Hongkongers with ambitions to join the bureaucracy also need not confine their search locally; opportunities also exist in Shenzhen and other cities in Guangdong province. With greater appreciation and understanding, possibilities can be realised with benefits for the city and its citizens.
Integration is a gradual, but inevitable, process. Different administrative systems complicate the process, though.
Hong Kong’s civil service has its practices grounded in the British colonial era and they differ markedly from mainland counterparts. An initiative recently announced by Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor for exchange programmes for public officers from both sides will help improve understanding so that cooperation may be smooth.
Such a programme has existed since 2002 with Beijing and Shanghai, and some 140 Hong Kong and 380 mainland officers have taken part. Lam said the scheme would be expanded to the bay area with the signing of agreements with the Guangdong provincial and Shenzhen government municipal departments.