Political appraisal: Secretary for Constitutional & Mainland Affairs Stephen Lam discusses the work of the Government's under secretaries and political assistants.

The Appointment Committee has considered the performance of the Government's nine under secretaries and nine political assistants and decided their remuneration should remain unchanged, adding they have generally met requirements.

Chief Executive Donald Tsang said the under secretaries and political assistants should review their work and identify areas for improvement.

"I appreciate the public has high expectations of politically-appointed officials. Given the differences in policy areas and the scope of work of the under secretaries and political assistants, the public understandably has different impressions of them and assessments on their performance.

"I believe [they will] humbly accept public scrutiny and criticism. I encourage them to build on their past work, to feel the pulse of the community, to actively liaise with the political parties of the Legislative Council, to proactively reach out to different sectors of the community and to explain government policies to the media and stakeholders."

The review was conducted from May to July. The performance of each under secretary and political assistant was appraised by their supervising principal officials and the Director of the Chief Executive's Office individually reviewed the reports.

All the appraisal and review reports were then submitted to the Appointment Committee chaired by the Chief Executive.

Speaking to the media today, Secretary for Constitutional & Mainland Affairs Stephen Lam said the under secretaries and political assistants on the whole have performed their tasks and job descriptions according to the original design.

With different portfolios, different subject matter and different sectors to liaise with, the work of the political appointees is bound to be different and any direct comparisons among them will be inappropriate, it was said.