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Government Departments
CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
The administrative functions of the government are discharged by about 40 departments, most of which are organised on a functional basis and have responsi- bilities covering all of Hong Kong. This form of organisation, rather than one based on authorities with responsibilities in a limited geographical area only, is suitable for this small, compact territory and has enabled the government to provide services without regard to the capacity of residents of various districts to pay taxes.
Secretariat for Home Affairs and New Territories Administration
The two government departments most closely concerned with the reactions of the people to government policies and plans are the Secretariat for Home Affairs, which controls the City District Officers in the urban areas, and the New Territories Administration under which come the District Officers stationed in the New Terri- tories. Hong Kong Island has four districts, Kowloon six and the New Territories five. A primary function of both departments is to assess the impact of contemplated new policies upon the population and, when they are adopted, to explain these policies to the public. They also report on trends of public opinion in the districts. In this general connection it has long been the practice of these two departments to foster links with a variety of private organisations including, in the urban areas, the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, Po Leung Kuk, kaifong associations, district and clansmen's associations, multi-storey building associations and religious organisations and youth groups.
The City District Office scheme, modelled on the long-established District Officer system, was introduced during 1968. The 10 City District Officers who are located in the urban areas of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and New Kowloon, are charged with the threefold duty of rendering services on behalf of the government, services for the community and services for the individual. They exercise a local co-ordinating func- tion, test public opinion, watch for sources of grievance and tension, and in general try to interpret to the man in the street the measures adopted by a specialised and sophisticated administration; they also deal with individual complaints, answer en- quiries, provide information and mediate in a variety of disputes.
At the City District offices and sub-offices, almost all of which are located in shop-type premises easily accessible to the public, enquiry service counters are com- bined with the reception facilities. The primary objects of the enquiry services are to give the man in the street information and guidance on the services provided and functions performed by government departments, to explain rules and procedures, and to supplement broadcast information during tropical storms and other emergencies. During the year, City District Officers handled a total of about 1.9 million enquiries of all kinds.
In September 1972, on the advice of the Executive Council, the Governor author- ised the establishment of a new division within the Secretariat for Home Affairs to be known as the Television and Films Division. Following the establishment of this new organisation, all staff from the Television Authority and from the Panel of Film Censors, formerly under the control of the Director of Information Services, were