ABSTRACT
The case of Hong Kong provides an opportunity to reflect on what a civil service system might look like in a liberal setting without rigorous political, especially legislative oversight. Hong Kong’s political executive has struggled to control and hold to account both the civil service in government departments and the vast array of public bodies that help to implement public policy. The bureaus and government departments and agencies are mostly staffed by civil servants. The permanent secretary, the most senior civil servant in each bureau, is the budget holder or controlling officer for programs managed by the bureau. The civil service is dominated by an elite 600 or so, strong generalist Administrative Service, recruited from among university graduates to staff positions in the policy bureaus and to lead many government departments. In 1988, Terry Lui wrote that, “the Hong Kong civil service demonstrates remarkable compliance with hierarchical authority.
