Hong Kong revamps 1823 with 10-day reply pledge
HKFP · 1 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
Hong Kong’s government has announced improvements to its 1823 hotline, promising faster handling of public enquiries and complaints and better coordination when more than one department is involved. The revamp follows Chief Executive John Lee’s Policy Address last week, in which he said a lead department would be designated for cross-departmental complaints. Deputy Chief Secretary Warner Cheuk said the aim was to stop departments from shifting responsibility between one another. Under the new arrangement, the lead department will provide an initial response within 10 days and an actual response within 30 days.
Key Points
- The 1823 Call Centre, launched in 2001 and operated around the clock by the Digital Policy Office, handles public enquiries and complaints.
- Chief Executive John Lee said in last week’s Policy Address that cross-departmental complaints would be assigned to a designated lead department.
- That lead department will report to the deputy chief secretary for administration, who will direct relevant departments to work together.
- Warner Cheuk said on Tuesday that 1823 received about 2 million oral and written enquiries and complaints in the first seven months.
- Cheuk said about 30 per cent of those cases involved more than one department, prompting the new coordination and response targets.
Why It Matters
For residents, the changes could make it easier to pursue complaints that cut across several parts of government instead of being redirected repeatedly. The new deadlines also create a clearer timetable for how the administration says it will handle a large volume of public cases through a long-running service.