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CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
responsibility for maintaining a constant positive check on the extent to which the current official policy of a much wider use of the Chinese language is being followed by government departments. Some of the recommendations are still under considera- tion, but most of them have either been accepted or put into practice during the year. The Secretary for Home Affairs was appointed the controlling authority and financial approval was given for a big expansion of translation services under his control. Simultaneous interpretation facilities were brought into use at the opening of the new session of the Legislative Council in October and at the Annual Conventional Debate of the Urban Council in November 1972.
Advisory Committees
Such bodies as the Board of Education, the Medical Advisory Board, the Social Welfare Advisory Committee, the Labour Advisory Board, the Trade and Industry Advisory Board, the Housing Board, the Transport Advisory Committee, and many others of a similar nature, constitute effective consultative and advisory machinery which enables unofficial opinion to be brought to bear on policy formation. In addition to unofficial members of both Executive and Legislative Councils, members of the public are appointed to many boards, councils and committees.
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The Action Committee Against Narcotics (ACAN) is a standing committee designed to meet the need for practical co-ordination and direct co-operation between the various voluntary and government organisations engaged in the suppression of the narcotics trade, the medical and social rehabilitation of addicts and public educa- tion and propaganda. It has five specialist sub-committees, each handling a particular aspect of the narcotics problem. Established in 1965, the committee now consists of representatives of 10 government departments and eight voluntary agencies under the chairmanship of Sir Albert Rodrigues.
Grievances
In Hong Kong there are several well-developed channels for the examination of complaints from members of the public and for helping people who have difficulty in their dealings with government departments. Probably the most commonly used channel is an appeal or complaint to the department concerned, which will ensure a review, at a higher level, of the decision taken. Another method is a letter to the Governor or the Colonial Secretary, which will also ensure that the matter is recon- sidered. Complaints and representations are also dealt with by the office run by unofficial members of the Executive and Legislative Councils-commonly referred to as the UMELCO office. City District Officers and District Officers in the New Ter- ritories also receive and investigate complaints. The absence of any statutory powers of investigation is offset by a lack of restriction on the type of complaint which UMELCO and the District Officers can receive and investigate. Both systems deal effectively with many grievances.
In addition, members of the Urban Council operate a ward system through which they receive complaints from members of the public and bring them to the attention of the appropriate government department or raise them formally in the Urban Council.