ENG-2009 — Page 60

16 Constitution and Administration

HKSAR's Offices in the Mainland

The HKSAR Government has four offices in the Mainland: the Beijing Office and three Economic and Trade Offices (ETOs) in Guangdong, Shanghai and Chengdu3. These offices are mainly responsible for enhancing liaison and communications with the CPG and other Mainland authorities; strengthening Hong Kong's economic and trade ties with the Mainland; promoting Hong Kong and encouraging and attracting investments to Hong Kong. The Beijing Office and Guangdong ETO have their own Immigration Divisions which provide practical assistance to Hong Kong residents in distress or seeking assistance in the Mainland and handle immigration matters. For details of the promotional activities organised by the Beijing Office and the three ETOS in the Mainland, please refer to Chapter 17 (Communications, the Media and Information Technology: section on Promoting Hong Kong Overseas and in the Mainland).

Advisory and Statutory Bodies

The network of advisory and statutory bodies is a distinctive feature of the system of government. Its purpose is to tap professional expertise present in the community and to encourage public participation in government decision-making.

Through these bodies, a wide cross-section of the community and relevant organisations can participate in the initial stage of policy-making and public service planning.

The advisory bodies' areas of activities are wide-ranging. Some, such as the Telecommunications Numbering Advisory Committee, deal with the interests of a particular industry. Others, such as the Transport Advisory Committee, advise on a particular area of government policy, while the District Councils deal with district affairs. Statutory bodies, such as the Hospital Authority, have legal powers and responsibilities to perform specific functions in accordance with the relevant legislations.

About 4 700 members of the public are serving on over 400 advisory and statutory bodies. They include people who are representatives of the relevant professions or the community, and appointees by the Government mainly because of their expertise, knowledge or experience, and contribution to the work of the bodies concerned.

The Government oversees the running of the advisory and statutory bodies to make sure they operate efficiently and that they meet the needs of the community. The practice of bringing in a reasonable number of new members is maintained to a continuing inflow of fresh and different ideas to these bodies. The

3

The Beijing Office covers Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Shanxi, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai and Tibet. The Guangdong ETO covers Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Jiangxi and Hainan. The Shanghai ETO covers Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui and Hubei. The Chengdu ETO covers Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Hunan, Shaanxi and Chongqing.

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