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CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
a year-round in-service training programme for all officers within the interpreter- translator class was being planned to bring about further improvements to general proficiency in both Chinese and English. Special study tours abroad to other bilingual communities were also being planned to expose serving officers to problems faced and efforts made by these communities. An English-Chinese glossary project of applied legal terms undertaken by the special translation project team of the Chinese University of Hong Kong under the sponsorship of the government was completed during the year. The glossary, containing some 16,000 entries, will provide a major work of reference for all government departments, as well as for the public.
Advisory Committees
One important feature of the administration system in Hong Kong is the com- prehensive network of more than one hundred advisory bodies on which government officers and members of the public sit together to formulate advice to the government on matters of major importance. Examples are such bodies as the Board of Education, Medical Advisory Board, Social Welfare Advisory Committee, Labour Advisory Board, Trade and Industry Advisory Board, Transport Advisory Committee, the Action Committee Against Narcotics (ACAN) and many others.
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. Another method is a letter to the Governor or the Colonial Secretary, which will also ensure that the matter is reconsidered. Complaints and representations are also dealt with by the office run by unofficial members of the Executive Council and Legislative Council-commonly referred to as the UMELCO office. City District Officers and District Officers in the New Territories 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.
Public Service
The public service provides the staff for all government departments, sub- departments and other units of the administration. As at April 1, 1973, the total number of posts in the public service (or its establishment as it is generally called) was 104,896. The strength on January 1, 1973 was 90,026 officers of whom 88,121 were local officers and 1,905 were overseas officers.