ENG-1997 — Page 63

CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance which came into force in late December 1996. A procedural guide on the processing of employment-related personal data has been issued to data users in the civil service advising them that the interests of data subjects should be a primary concern when collecting, using, handling, storing and transmitting personal data. Seminars, workshops and training courses have also been conducted to enhance civil servants' awareness of their legal rights and obligations under the ordinance.

Civil Service Training and Development

Preparing civil servants to provide quality service to the public and to meet new challenges is the primary goal of training and development in the Civil Service. To achieve this goal, the Civil Service Training and Development Institute, the government's central training agency, offers a wide range of management, language, China studies and information technology courses for civil servants ranging from the directorate to the junior ranks. Training courses are supplemented and reinforced by developmental tools such as self-learning packages. The institute also provides training services to support management activities launched by the government and offers a full range of training services to departments.

Management training programmes, in which senior staff may enrol, include overseas executive development programmes, local directorate seminars and the Senior Staff Development Programme (SSDP). The SSDP is a seven-week, intensive programme with emphasis on policy analysis and the leadership role of senior civil servants. Visits to overseas civil service counterparts form an important component of the course.

The emphasis on China Studies is to increase civil servants' knowledge of the social, economic and administrative systems in the Mainland through lectures and visits. The programmes include:

Tsinghua Course:

Each course consists of four weeks of classroom lectures at Tsinghua University in Beijing. Lectures are supplemented by visits to government departments and other organisations.

Familiarisation Visits: Familiarisation visits are organised to give officers the opportunity to get a better understanding of China's government system and way of life.

China Seminars:

Speakers knowledgeable about China-related issues are invited from within and outside the government to deliver seminars to public servants.

Self-learning Packages: Videos, booklets and computer software on China-related

subjects are developed for use by civil servants.

Putonghua and Chinese writing courses are offered to a large number of officers. Tailor-made courses on Putonghua and on Chinese writing are also offered to departments and grades. Training on Chinese word processing is offered to secretarial, clerical and executive grade officers to meet soaring demands for the skill. Cantonese courses are provided for expatriate officers to help them work effectively in the Chinese community.

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