Chief Executive John Lee presented the Chief Executive’s Award for Exemplary Performance to two inter-departmental teams at a ceremony on Friday, recognising their outstanding contributions to the community.

The award, established to celebrate excellence and dedication within the civil service, aims to inspire public servants to continually raise their standards and strive for improvement.

This year, the accolade went to the team that safely dismantled a wartime bomb in Quarry Bay last year, as well as the team responsible for the handling of light public housing projects.

In his address, Lee commended both groups for embodying the highest professional values of the civil service.

"Since taking office four years ago, the current term government has continuously pursued reform and innovation, adopting a results-oriented approach, and our policy initiatives have gradually borne fruit," he said.

"From the professionalism and solidarity shown in handling the wartime bomb to the efficiency and innovation in building light public housing, our civil service colleagues have consistently demonstrated a dedicated service spirit, daring to face challenges and take on responsibilities."

Lee also expressed his gratitude to all civil servants for their steadfast service.

In September last year, a 1,000-pound wartime bomb, containing 500 pounds of high explosives with an enormous destructive potential, was unearthed at a construction site in Quarry Bay. The situation was made even more urgent by Super Typhoon Ragasa, which was approaching the SAR.

Senior Bomb Disposal Officer Suryanto Chin-chiu described the operation as the most challenging of its kind among all large-scale wartime bomb disposals ever handled in Hong Kong.

"As everyone knows, the nearest residential buildings were about 30 metres away [from the bomb], and there are also many commercial buildings in the area. We are evacuating nearly 3,000 people from this district to a single assembly point," he said.

"Despite the severe weather conditions, through the professionalism and dedication of our entire team, we ultimately succeeded in defusing the bomb – and all of this happened before the typhoon arrived, allowing citizens to return safely to their homes."

Meanwhile, the light public housing team has been making significant strides in addressing housing needs, since the Chief Executive put forward the initiative in 2022 to build about 30,000 units in five years time.

Winnie Wong, who was Deputy Secretary for Housing at the time, recalls that the memory of completing the first light public housing project and witnessing residents move in remains deeply moving.

"This experience has also reminded me that every day we come to work, we must put people first because our work can truly affect so many lives. We must be bold enough to break convention and dare to innovate," she said.

The ceremony marked the fourth edition of the awards.


Edited by Aaron Tam