The political environment in Hong Kong is full of challenges. Under one country, two systems, we need more talents to govern Hong Kong, improve governance and maintain good governance, and solve various social problems. The SAR government has implemented a political appointment system for nearly fifteen years. Each policy bureau has the ranks of director, deputy secretary and political assistant (the Civil Service Bureau does not have the ranks of deputy secretary and political assistant); the latter two are also regarded as cultivating local political talents. one of the important cradle.
Government information shows that the current government has received more than 1,100 applications for the positions of deputy directors and political assistants, an increase of ten times compared with more than 100 applications under the previous government. This reflects that in recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of people who are interested in entering politics and applying for the rank of deputy director or political assistant.
According to a research report on "Youth's Expectations of Politically Appointed Officials" published by the Youth Innovation and Research Center in February this year, many young people interviewed believe that expanding the accountability team will help cultivate Hong Kong's political talents. However, the research also shows that the young people interviewed have negative evaluations of the effectiveness of the political appointment system in attracting political talents or providing more comprehensive opportunities to enter politics.
For young people, one of the real and relevant issues is that the threshold for joining the political accountability team is not low. Taking the most basic political assistant rank in the accountability team as an example, calculated as of December 1, 2016, of the eleven serving political assistants in the current government, only two were under the age of 35 when they took office, and the rest The age of appointment of nine of them is 35 years or above.
For young people who are interested in developing a political career, it takes a long time between leaving school and taking up the position of political assistant. Aspiring young people need to rely on their own efforts, increase their political network and experience, and accumulate several years of life experience before they can hope to meet the basic qualifications and successfully apply for relevant positions. The qualification requirements in this area will inevitably deter aspiring young people.
Increase entry-level positions and provide internship opportunities
What's more, in this process, there is no clear connection or promotion ladder, which can easily give people the impression that political career is both out of reach and the prospects are difficult to foresee. Such situations occur in a Hong Kong society dominated by finance, commerce and service industries, which further highlights the difficulties in developing political careers and also stifles the motivation of young people to join the governance team.
Regarding the expansion of politically accountable positions, according to the report published by the "Independent Commission on Remuneration for Members of the Executive Council, Legislative Council and Officials of the Political Appointment System of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" in April 2012, the current government may hire employees in each policy bureau. A certain number of political assistants (for example, two or three) not only provide support to key officials, but also cultivate political talents. However, this arrangement has not yet been realized.
From the perspective of cultivating local talents for Hong Kong governance, the political appointment system has its own significance and also has room for optimization. The new government of the SAR should consider expanding the scale of current political appointments, such as adding entry-level positions, so that young people with less qualifications who intend to enter politics can have the opportunity to join relevant jobs. In addition, the SAR government should also provide internship opportunities so that students from colleges and universities who are interested in entering politics can get in touch with and understand the work of politically appointed positions as early as possible.
We believe that there is no shortage of outstanding young people in Hong Kong who are aspiring to enter politics. If the authorities can attract them to join the accountability team with a relatively easy threshold; through actual combat and experience, they can improve their commitment to governance responsibilities, administrative and policy-making capabilities, and develop an awareness of accepting public supervision, it will be very important to promote the management of the SAR government. Managing quality should bring positive power.
Pan Xuezhi (member), Zhang Jingyun (researcher) Youth Innovation Research Database
