PA to focus on life issues

Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying will deliver his first Policy Address (PA) next week. It has been said that Leung will put forward a plan for housing development in the next five years with a specific schedule for flats to come online each year. The numbers of these flats are expected to "increase by leaps and bounds".

The first PA of the new SAR government will respond not only to popular concerns about economic and quality of life issue, but also offer plans for Hong Kong's long-term development. It will focus on future well-being, as well as the immediate interests of 7 million Hong Kong residents. That is why all eyes are on the PA right now.

Multiple public opinion polls found that local residents hope the government will be able to address issues concerning living standards with tangible results. Any action aimed at hobbling government efforts to do its job is in direct conflict with public interest, as we see in the opposition's latest attempt to impeach the CE.

A recent roundup by the University of Hong Kong's Public Opinion Programme shows people listed quality of life at the top of their concerns for 2012. This was followed by the economy and political issues in that order. It has been that way for years and once again proved that livelihood is a "perennial theme" of Hong Kong society.

Given the fact that Hong Kong is at a critical stage right now, the government must be able to work effectively in order to take advantage of the immense space and opportunities for development provided by the nation's new central leadership and resolve deep-rooted social problems. It also depends on sufficient support by members of society for the authorities to implement policies according to the administrative agenda.

The impeachment attempt constitutes abuse of the legislative mechanism and is aimed at disrupting the SAR government's work and undermining efforts to improve people's livelihood, which is why it is unpopular.

This is an excerpted translation of a Wen Wei Po editorial published on Jan 9.

Data fabrication intolerable

News that up to half of census officers at the Census and Statistics Department (CSD) may have cut corners or even fabricated numbers over the years has left the accuracy and credibility of official data in doubt. There is no question that even one such case is too many and the public has zero tolerance for it.

The reality is that no census can be error-free and it is essential to keep the margin of error as low as possible by following standing rules to the letter, always aiming for "100 percent" accuracy.

For a start, the CSD's system of awards and penalties is no doubt flawed and has to be fixed and optimized. The introduction of "work records" to monitor data collection progress can help raise efficiency, but it may lead to "favoring speed over accuracy" as well, not to mention the fact that methodology has not been updated appropriately over the years.

For example, residential data is in "units" rather than "households" despite the fact that subdivided flats have become quite common. Without a fair system of awards and penalties, some census officers could be tempted to make up the number of subdivided residential units in order to save time. That shouldn't be too difficult a problem to fix.

Also, data fabrication can be reduced through improved quality control over record proofing. The CSD has noted that rules have been updated according to international standards and managers make surprise checks every now and then to keep the probability of data error as low as possible. Still, the CSD should step up data proofing efforts to deter fabrication, particularly in categories involving detailed questions and likely linear queries, such as those about "employment" status.

Naturally, adequate data proofing and rewarding good performance have to be accompanied by effective penalties against malpractices. No one should be given the slide if they are found guilty of data fabrication. Such acts must be punished with disciplinary sanction or criminal prosecution.

Finally, it is necessary to build up the culture of professional integrity in the CSD. Census officers should be held to a high standard of justice and honesty in terms of professionalism as well as individual character.

This is an excerpted translation of a Hong Kong Commercial Daily editorial published on Jan 9.

(HK Edition 01/10/2013 page3)