The Civil Service Bureau today conducted the second drill under the government-wide mobilisation level, codenamed “Exercise Touchdown II”, to test the bureaus and departments’ ability to mobilise their rostered staff and provide transport and logistics support within a short period of time following the activation of the mobilisation protocol.

The drill simulated a scenario under which a super typhoon was approaching Hong Kong and the associated torrential rain might result in serious flooding in some low-lying areas, necessitating the prompt mobilisation of staff across government departments to form a quick response unit to provide support.

All bureaus and departments were notified by the Civil Service Bureau and around 10,000 designated personnel were put on standby. Among them, 46 bureaus and departments had to deploy a total of around 700 staff members to assemble at designated locations within a specified time as soon as possible. About 260 people were required to assemble at Cheung Wah Community Hall in Fanling and the remaining staff gathered at designated locations for a briefing.

The Government Logistics Department also arranged for vehicles and supplies to arrive at Cheung Wah Community Hall.

The whole exercise lasted for about four hours.

Chief Secretary Chan Kwok-ki and Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung inspected the operation drill at Cheung Wah Community Hall.

Mr Chan said that the enhanced mobilisation protocol is an important initiative to further improve governance, improve systemic resilience and enhance the Government’s emergency response capabilities.

It ensures that the Government can mobilise its staff in a more organised, systematic and efficient manner in case of major incidents, in order to achieve early planning and early intervention, he added.

The Chief Secretary instructed colleagues to make proper deployment in response to major or unexpected incidents, and fully support the operation of the mobilisation protocol. He also urged them to uphold the spirit of “putting the people first and addressing people’s pressing needs”, stand united when facing different challenges and serve the public to their best abilities.

Mrs Yeung supplemented that the drill helped the bureaus and departments further familiarise themselves with the process and arrangements for activating the mobilisation protocol.

She told the participants that the bureau will conduct additional drills with a view to consolidating and enhancing the mobility and responsiveness of government staff, and cultivating flexibility and efficiency in the organisational culture.

The civil service chief also noted that the Government will strengthen the execution capabilities of all participating bureaus and departments under the mobilisation protocol, and remind the staff on roster to remain vigilant and form a quick response unit promptly to provide responses decisively in the event of major incidents.