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CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
Hong Kong's foreign relations are constitutionally the direct responsibility of the British Government. Thus the British Government is internationally responsible for ensuring that the Hong Kong Government fulfils its obligations under the many international conventions and agreements which extend to Hong Kong as well as to the United Kingdom. But, in the day-to-day conduct of external affairs, Hong Kong in practice enjoys a considerable degree of autonomy, and full autonomy regarding trade matters. It is a contracting party to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in its own right.
The Role of Political Adviser
The Political Adviser is a senior member of the British Diplomatic Service, seconded to the Hong Kong Government principally to advise the Governor and the Chief Secretary on matters concerning Hong Kong's relations with China. His office is part of the Hong Kong Government. Following extensive involvement in the Sino-British negotiations which culminated in the Joint Declaration, the Political Adviser's office, in conjunction with the Constitutional Affairs Branch, is closely involved in the work of implementing the Joint Declaration. In addition, the Political Adviser's office continues to offer advice, and, in some cases, to co-ordinate action on a great many more routine matters, notably in promoting the wide range of contacts between Hong Kong Government departments and their counterparts in Guangdong Province, particularly in the Shenzhen Special Econ- omic Zone.
Close and effective cross-border co-operation has developed in such diverse areas as opening new border crossing points and transport links, and in coping with environmental pollution and flooding problems, as well as on questions concerning immigration, customs, postal services and telecommunications. The Political Adviser's office is also one of the channels of communication between the Hong Kong Government and foreign and Commonwealth missions in Hong Kong. These missions do, however, deal directly with the relevant departments of the Hong Kong Government over most day-to-day matters.
Public Service
The Public Service provides the staff for all government departments and other units of the Administration. With Hong Kong's centralised form of government, the Public Service operates a wide range of services which in many countries would be administered by other public authorities. These include public works and utilities, urban cleansing and public health, education, fire services and the police force. The departments in charge of these areas namely, the Lands and Works group of departments (23 155 staff), the Municipal Services group of departments (27 954), the Education Department (6 936), Fire Services Department (7 752), and the Royal Hong Kong Police Force (33 206) account for 53 per cent of the establishment of the whole Public Service. At April 1, 1990, the total strength of the service was 188 393, over 98 per cent of this number being local officers. The service is structured into some 437 grades or job categories in the administrative, professional, technical and manual fields, with 1 209 ranks or job levels.
Overall responsibility for the management of the Public Service lies with the Civil Serv- ice Branch of the Government Secretariat. The branch deals with such matters as appointments, pay and conditions of service, staff management, manpower planning, training and discipline. It is also the focal point for consultation with the principal staff associations.