CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
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population. It maintains close contact with many unofficial bodies, such as the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, Po Leung Kuk, kaifong associations, district and clansmen associations, Mutual Aid Committees, multi-storey building owners' corporations, and religious and charitable organisations. However, most of its efforts are aimed at maintaining person-to-person contact with the poorer people of Hong Kong, finding out what their problems and needs are, and putting them in direct touch with govern- ment agencies that can help them.
The department runs the City District Office scheme, which was introduced in 1968 to improve communication between the government and people. There are 10 City District Offices and 12 sub-offices in the most crowded urban areas of Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. Throughout the urban areas, these offices provide a point of contact with the government where even the humblest citizen can go for help in the knowledge that he will be courteously treated, patiently heard and helpfully advised. A variety of services is offered, the most well known being the public inquiry service, which dealt with more than 2.5 million inquiries in 1977. This counter service can advise a citizen on almost any aspect of government policy and procedure, provide any forms needed and help fill them in. It also operates a 24-hour weather information service during typhoons when the City District Offices are kept open for people in need.
The City District Officers and their staff see the government at work from the point of the man in the street. They are, therefore, well placed to advise government depart- ments on any deficiencies in departmental services or activities that could cause disruption or inconvenience. They report these deficiencies and friction areas to the government agencies concerned and, if possible, resolve the problem by convening meetings to co-ordinate remedial government action.
Through the City District Office, the office staff and people of each district are involved in community-orientated projects, such as campaigns for fighting violent crime and cleaning the city, and providing recreational and cultural activities princi- pally for young people. It is the responsibility of the City District Officer to co-ordinate this work. They also are involved in the discussion of public affairs through the medium of Area Committees serviced by the City District Officer and his staff.
Much of the communication and community involvement work undertaken by the City District Office is done through a network of Mutual Aid Committees. These were first formed in 1973 to encourage residents of multi-storey buildings to co-operate in tackling common problems of security and cleanliness. At the end of 1977, there were 2,468 of these committees an increase of 252 over the previous year's figure. Furthermore, the scheme has provided 2,073,000 people with a formal- ised system of communication with the government distinct from, and in addition to, the many other channels for complaint or redress of grievance available to every citizen.
Use of the Chinese Language
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The steady growth of public business and the consequent increase in correspond- ence between government departments and the public, and the appointment of non- English-speaking persons to serve on advisory boards and committees, has increased the demand for translations and interpretations of a high standard.