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Since its founding in September 1990, the Hong Kong Public Administration Association (HKPAA), hereinafter referred to as the Association, has been committed to promoting excellence in the study and practice of public administration. The Association celebrates its 15th anniversary in September 2005 as a professional association for public administration practitioners and academics in Hong Kong.

OBJECTIVES

(1) To enhance the quality of practice and teaching of public administration in Hong Kong;
(2) To provide a forum for the identification and discussion of public administration issues; and
(3) To stimulate discussion and to increase public understanding on issues of importance and relevance to public administration.

MEMBERSHIP

The Association is a non-partisan organization, which welcomes anyone who is interested in public administration to join. Currently, the Association has over two hundred members. The members are of diverse backgrounds such as civil servants in various government departments, professionals in public and private organizations, and academics in universities in Hong Kong.

PATRON

The Association is honored to have The Hon Rafael Hui, Chief Secretary for Administration, the Government of Hong Kong Special Administration Region, as its Patron. .Past Patrons include Mrs. Anson Chan and Mr. Donald Tsang, former Chief Secretaries for Administration.

ASSOCIATION PRESIDENTS

The Association is being managed by the Executive Committee comprised of a good mix of academics and practitioners of public administration. The Association's Presidents in the past include Dr Roy Le Herisser, Professor of the City University of Hong Kong, Mr. Jeremiah Wong, Dean of Students of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Mr. Raymond Lai, Director of the Correctional Services Department, and Mr. Derek Gould, Principal Assistant Secretary of the Government Secretariat. The current President, Dr. Peter Fong, is the Head of the Centre for Executive Development of HKU SPACE and former Executive Vice President and Professor of Asia International Open University (Macau).

PRIZE AWARD

The Executive Committee congratulated Dr. Peter Fong, the Association's President on winning the Gusi Peace Prize Award for his exemplary contribution in education administration and urban development. The presentation dinner was held in Manila, Philippines on 1 December 2004. A delegation of 14 members attended this ceremony and visited the EROPA Headquarters in the University of the Philippines.

ACTIVITIES

Since its founding, the Association has made significant contributions to the excellence in public administration by organizing a large number of academic and practitioner-oriented activities, including (1) international conferences, (2) seminars and luncheon talks, (3) overseas and local visits, (4) external linkages with other associations and (5) publications.

(1) International Conferences

To provide opportunities for academics and practitioners of public administration to learn, share, and exchange information and experiences, the Association has been an active participant as well as co-organizer of many international conferences. Examples are:

2005: Dr. Peter Fong attended the "International Conference on Government Management Innovation" in Guangzhou 3-5 June 2005.
Dr.Peter Fong, and several Exco members attended "The 2nd Annual Public Private Partnership Asia Summit" supported by the Association, in Hong Kong 24-26 May 2005.
A delegation of 5 HKPAA members, including the President attended the First "Cross Strait Public Administration Conference" organized by the School of Public Administration of Renmin University of China in Beijing 6-8 April 2005. Dr. Peter Fong and Dr. Tom Chan presented their papers at the conference.

2004: "Sino-France International Conference -- Public Sector Change Management" organized by China Public Administration Society in Beijing 29 - 31 October 2004. Dr. Peter Fong was invited to present a paper at the Conference.
"e-Education and e-Learning: Benchmarking the Best Practices in Using Information Technology" in 28 June 2004 co-organized with HKU SPACE.

2003: "From e-Government to e-Security Conference 2003: A Benchmarking Perspective in Asia" co-organized with HKU SPACE.

2002: "The Balanced Scorecard Conference" organized by IQPC of Singapore and endorsed by HKPAA. The co-founder and guru of the Balanced Scorecard, Dr. David Norton and other experts discussed how to use BSC to achieve corporate strategies and enhance performance. Over 60 senior executives from both private and public organizations attended the event.
"The 2nd Asia-Pacific Conference on Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning" May 2002, organized by HKUSPACE, Dr. Peter Fong and Dr. Gloria Chan, jointly presented a paper on "Challenges and Strategies for Providing Professional and Continuing Education in the New Economy";

2000: "Public Management and Governance in the New Millennium: Lessons from the Past and Challenges for the Future" (2000); "Developing Asia's Public Services: Sharing Best Practice" (2000) Conference in Hong Kong, jointly organized by the Association and the Efficiency Unit of the Government of HKSAR and the Eastern Regional Organization for Public Administration (EROPA).

Others include:
1997: "Public Sector Management Reform in China"
1995: "Serving the Community"
1992: "Hong Kong Public Administration in Transition: A Regional Perspective"
1991: "Public Sector Reform in Hong Kong: Progress-To-Date and Future Directions"

(2) Seminars and Luncheon Talks

Other than large-scale conferences, the Association has also organized luncheon talks on issues of major importance in public administration. The guest speakers who delivered these seminars and talks include Policy Secretaries, Legislative and Executive Council Members as well as politicians and senior academics.

The Association's 15th Anniversary AGM and Luncheon Talk was held on 26 September 2005. The Hon Elsie Leung, GBM, JP, Secretary for Justice, gave a speech on " The Impact of Judicial Review on Public Administration in Hong Kong".

The 2004 Annual General Meeting was held on 8 June 2004. Mr. Lee Ming-kwai, Commissioner of Police, presented a Luncheon Speech on " Change Management at the Hong Kong Police".

• On 26-27 April 2004, a Symposium on "Logistics Development and Infrastructure" jointly organized by AES and the North-Eastern University of PRC supported by HKPAA, at Sheraton Hotel, Kowloon.
• On 19 July 2003, HKU SPACE and the Association jointly organized the "2003 Election Campaign Strategies Workshop". Dr. Chan Kam-tong and Dr. Peter Fong chaired it. Over 40 legislative councilors and district council members and their assistants participated to share their views and experiences on election strategies and to prepare for the November 03 District Council elections
• On 20 June 2002, the Association has organized a forum concerning "Accountability of Principle Officials in HK by ex-senior civil servants". The guest speakers (Mr. Peter Loh, Former Director of Civil Aviation Department; Dr. Y. L. Choi, Former Director of Buildings Department and Dr. Nicky Chan, Former Secretary for Works) expressed their views and opinions on the system and the impact on the future of Hong Kong.
• The Association also organized and co-organized quite a number of seminars in 2001. For example, the "Anti-corruption Codes for Civil Servants", "Sino-American Relation after the Air-crash Incident in South China", forums on "Policy Address and the Prospect of Hong Kong", "Awareness on Hong Kong's Development", etc. Our President was also invited as the host and guest speaker for the forum; the topic was "Compare and Contrast Hong Kong and Singapore's Measures on Reviving Economy and Relieving Difficulties in the Public"; all of them were very well received.

(3) Overseas and Local Visits

The Association has organized a number of local and overseas visits in the past for our members:
• On 24 -25 April 2004, a trip to Zhuhai Trip was jointly organized with AES to understand the economic development in Pearl River Delta. The attendees were invited by quite a number of enterprises to view the latest IT and Economics development in Zhuhai.
• On 18 March 2004, a courtesy visit to the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR was organised.
• A five-day visit to Shanghai and Nanjing was co-organised with AES in August 2003. The Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong coordinated it. Apart from sightseeing and visiting special and historical sites, members had also met Shanghai Vice-Mayor Han Zheng. Members had also attended talks on Shanghai's city construction and its long-term planning.
• In April 2002, together with AES, our Adviser Dr. Raymond Ho led a group of 15 members to visit Beijing. In the visit, members were invited to meet Mr. Zhou Guangshao, the Vicepresident of National People's Congress Standing Committee and president of China Academy for Science. The delegation also visited the National School of Administration, State Development Planning Commission, Ministry of Construction, Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's Beijing Office.
• In March 2002, the Association organized a visit to the Operation and Safety Training Centre of the MTRC. Participants also had lunch together after the function.

(4) External Linkages

The Association has established and maintained strong linkages with a number of local and overseas associations, which have an interest in public administration. The Association has close contact with the Macau Public Administration Association by frequent dinner gatherings and other activities. For example, on 2 & 3 October 2003, representatives of Macao Female Civil Servant Association arrived in Hong Kong and met with our Executive members. We had also arranged them to visit the Civil Service Bureau, HK Senior Female Civil Servants' Association and Call Centre in the Efficiency Unit of the Chief Secretary's Office. A welcome lunch was held at the HK Police Headquarters Senior Officers' Mess in Wanchai.

The Association is a corporate member of Eastern Regional Organization for Public Administration (EROPA). It has also established formal cooperation agreements with the American Society for Public Administration, the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration, the Japanese Society for Public Administration, and the Korean Society for Public Administration.

The Association has engaged in regular exchanges with other public administration associations by sending delegations to participate in their functions and receiving their delegates. For example, the Association has sent delegates to attend and present papers in the annual conference of the Chinese Public Administration Society and the American Society for Public Administration.

The Association has also collaborated with nine other bodies to form The Alliance Concerning Hong Kong's Development, which was founded on 8th December 2001. The ten bodies include Hong Kong Public Administration Association, the Hong Kong Association of International Cooperation of Small and Medium Enterprises, Society of Hong Kong Scholars, Innovation and Technology Association, the Hong Kong Association for the Advancement of Science and Technology, the Association of Hong Kong Health Care Professionals, Society of Chinese Graduate Students in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Primary Education Research Association and Hong Kong Polytechnic Alumni Association. The objective of the Alliance is to provide a platform for Hong Kong's professionals and the middle class to raise opinions and suggestions on Hong Kong's general conditions and economic development, also to monitor the enforcement of pertaining policies.

(5) Publications

In cooperation with the Department of Public and Social Administration of the City University of Hong Kong, the Association publishes a bi-annual journal, Public Administration and Policy * A Hong Kong and Asia-Pacific Journal. The Journal is provided for its members free of charge. While the Journal includes articles concerning practical experiences of public administration in the Asia-Pacific Region, it also maintains a good academic standard. The Journal has an international advisory board with members from universities in the United States, Europe, Australia, and Hong Kong. In fact, it is a Hong Kong - based public administration journals, and can be found in the libraries of major local and overseas universities.

The Association also publishes a quarterly Newsletter to keep its members informed with the activities of the Association. Members are welcomed to submit writings and publications to share with other members. For more information, please see the Association's website http://www.hkpaa.org.hk

(6) Sub-committees

The Association has established several sub-committees to enhance the teaching and practice of public administration in Hong Kong, as well as facilitating public administrators and managers' self-improvement. The sub-committees aiming at providing more room for members' participation include Conferences and Seminars, Journal and Publications, Membership, External Affairs, Webmaster, Newsletter, Social and Cultural Activities, and Education and Training.

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