Chief Executive John Lee today presented award certificates to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Search & Rescue Team to quake-stricken areas in Myanmar in March and the Inter-departmental Preparation Team for Kai Tak Sports Park (KTSP) Commissioning.

Addressing the Chief Executive's Award for Exemplary Performance Presentation Ceremony, Mr Lee praised the excellent performances of the two award-winning teams.

He noted that the two awarded outstanding teams have demonstrated their respective strengths, which not only set an example for the entire civil service, but also demonstrated the Hong Kong SAR Government's spirit of pursuing excellence and fearlessly taking on challenges.

Mr Lee said: “They created good stories of civil servants that we are proud of through their actions.”

The Chief Executive highlighted that Hong Kong's ranking of second globally and first in Asia in the Government efficiency section of the World Competitiveness Yearbook 2025 underlines the outstanding competence and effective performance of Hong Kong's civil servants.

Mr Lee said he will continue to strengthen the system to enable officials to better utilise their proactive leadership capability so that the civil service can bring out their efficiency and potential to the fullest and realise the Government's result-oriented policy initiatives through action.

In March this year, a major earthquake struck Myanmar, resulting in serious casualties. The Hong Kong SAR Search & Rescue Team rushed to Mantalay, one of the most devastated areas in Myanmar, to conduct search and rescue operations.

The team completed 61 search and rescue operations covering 57 locations amid constant aftershocks and scorching heat in the disaster-stricken areas, and conducted joint operations with the China Search & Rescue Team, successfully rescuing one survivor who had been trapped for more than 125 hours.

The Hong Kong SAR Search & Rescue Team consists of civil servants from the Security Bureau, the Fire Services Department and the Immigration Department, as well as medical representatives from the Hospital Authority.

The team's commander Cheu Yu-kok thanked the Government for recognising the team's efforts.

He said that the team will continue to uphold its professionalism, strengthen exchanges with relevant Mainland authorities and continue to explore further uses of AI and advanced technology to persistently enhance its emergency rescue capabilities and standards, and to make greater contributions to international humanitarian rescue work.

Another awardee is an interdepartmental preparation team formed by the Culture, Sports & Tourism Bureau, the Security Bureau, the Civil Service Bureau, the Transport & Logistics Bureau, the Police Force and the Transport Department.

The team completed around 20 test events, including five large-scale drills, in just five months, mobilising about 140,000 civil servants to participate in the stress tests to evaluate the capability of the KTSP and its surrounding facilities comprehensively, to become fully prepared for the grand opening ceremony on March 1 and the subsequent large-scale events.

Representative of the Inter-departmental Preparation Team for KTSP Commissioning, Commissioner for Sports George Tsoi thanked the Chief Executive for his recognition of the team.

He said that the team had done its utmost to overcome various challenges during the KTSP's preparatory process with efficiency and professionalism. The team will continue to work closely with the established foundation of good communication and collaboration to fully capitalise on the opportunities brought about by the KTSP.

The nomination exercise for the new round of the Chief Executive's Award for Exemplary Performance commenced in May this year. The Civil Service Bureau invited bureaus to nominate outstanding teams or colleagues for the honour.