Political leaders around the world form a cabinet team to deliver on the election manifesto and undertakings given to the people during the election campaign. Likewise, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong needs to form such a team. At the same time, we must ensure that the formation of the political team will not impact on the institution of our apolitical, professional and meritocractic civil service.
These are the twin objectives of the Government's latest proposals on "The Further Development of the Political Appointment System". The proposals entail the creation of two new political layers: Under Secretaries and Assistants to Directors of Bureau to support the Policy Secretaries of the Government.
System of political appointments evolves
Ever since 1985 with elections to the Legislative Council introduced, the political fabric of Hong Kong has changed. However, the system of having senior civil servants be "ministers" of the Government remained unchanged for 17 years, until 2002.
Continuation of the previous system of official appointments without adapting to the changing political landscape had led to stresses and strains in the system.
Public pressures for senior civil servants to assume political responsibility, and in extremis, to step down, surfaced from time to time. In 2002, the introduction of a new system to appoint Policy Secretaries on a five-year term, working with the CE who nominated them, marked a watershed in Hong Kong's constitutional evolution.
Since then, with Policy Secretaries being Executive Council members, a quasi-cabinet system has been introduced. Policy Secretaries provide political leadership and assume political responsibility for their respective policy portfolios. This has brought Hong Kong's system of government closer to those in Western democracies.
The arrangement proved workable in political incidents such as the penny-stock episode and SARS. Politically appointed Policy Secretaries had borne the brunt of political pressures, thereby shielding senior civil servants from unnecessary political irradiation.
Political team 'too thin'
However, with just 14 Policy Secretaries, the political team is too thin. Modern and open societies elsewhere have larger political establishments. In Canada and the United Kingdom, there are two or three layers of ministers who speak on behalf of the government in parliament.
In these jurisdictions, the vice-ministers and political aides tender political advice and input to their ministers. Senior civil servants provide policy analysis and options. Ministers amalgamate policy options and political assessment to form government policies.
Likewise, our proposals for Hong Kong will enable Permanent Secretaries and their civil servant colleagues to continue to focus on policy work; Under Secretaries will deputise for Policy Secretaries in LegCo and provide political input. We hope that this will strengthen governance and preserve the civil-service system.
Political coalition key
Since launching the consultation document at the end of July, Legislative Councillors, political parties and academics have asked whether it is the Government's intention to form a political alliance or to facilitate the emergence of majority government in Hong Kong. The new proposals will certainly widen the scope for political participation.
The Chief Executive can make political appointments at three levels - the Executive Council, Policy Secretaries and their deputies. Those who wish to pursue a political career will no longer be restricted largely to standing for elections in LegCo and the District Councils. The possibility of holding executive office can become a reality.
However, a majority government is not likely to emerge for some time. For a start, no political party can easily secure an overriding majority in LegCo. Direct elections are held on the basis of proportional representation; small parties can secure seats. Functional constituencies also return many independent candidates.
Political team should come from many sources
Leaders in Hong Kong come from different sectors including the civil service, political parties, business, professions and academia. To cover a broader spectrum of our society, the Government's political team should be drawn from these various sources.
Questions have been raised as to whether our proposals are tailor-made for individual political parties. We expect that in the next two years, political parties will be preparing for the 2007 District Councils elections and the 2008 LegCo election and they will need to retain most of their talents for this purpose. Thus, those with political party backgrounds will not be in majority, but can fill some of the proposed political positions.
Nevertheless, this will help the Chief Executive strengthen relations with different parties.
Political posts should not come at civil service's expense
Two specific questions political parties and academics raise should be addressed. Firstly, it has been suggested that the creation of additional political positions should be offset by the deletion of civil-service directorate posts. The Government's position is that the new political positions should not be created at the expense of the civil-service establishment. Civil service colleagues will have ample policy work to cover.
However, we recognise that public funds should be spent prudently. If necessary, we will refine our proposals in light of feedback received during the consultation period.
Secondly, it has been suggested that we should establish a recruitment board to screen candidates for the new political positions. Political appointments by nature are different from civil-service appointments. Written examinations and recruitment interviews are not the norm. Presidents and Prime Ministers around the world form their cabinets with candidates who have proven ability, commitment to serve, and support the election manifesto. Future Chief Executives are likely to follow a similar formula.
Electoral hardware, political software
The Government has launched the consultation on political appointment system at the same time of commencing discussions in the Commission on Strategic Development on models for electing the Chief Executive by universal suffrage.
We are pursuing discussions on a dual track, because we hope to open up both the hardware of the electoral system and the software of political appointments. In the long run, the two elements are complementary. Both will facilitate improvement in governance and the pursuit of democracy.
This commentary from Secretary for Constitutional Affairs Stephen Lam appeared today in local Chinese and English-language newspapers.
