Chief Executive John Lee today presented the recipients of the inaugural Chief Executive’s Award for Exemplary Performance, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s search and rescue team, with certificates of commendation.
 
Officiating at a presentation ceremony, Mr Lee said the award had been created to motivate civil servants to strive for continuous improvement.
 
He said: “I encourage the civil service to take the exemplary performance of the search and rescue team as a role model and to strive for excellence in their work, so as to bring into full play the spirit of teamwork and courageous commitment of the civil service, to take a result-oriented approach, and to safeguard public safety and health so that the public can live with greater safety, peace of mind and happiness.”
 
In February, the 59-strong team was deployed to carry out search and rescue operations in earthquake-stricken areas of Turkey and rescued four survivors during an operation that lasted for 216 hours.
 
Mr Lee commended the team for demonstrating perseverance, unparalleled courage, professional competence, co-operation and solidarity, qualities that he said exemplified the excellence the Government strives to promote.
 
Nominations for the award commenced in March, with the Civil Service Bureau inviting all bureaus to nominate outstanding teams or colleagues for the honour. More than 20 nominations were received.