Seventy-five civil servants of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) Government were commended for their excellent performance at work Friday.

Secretary for the Civil Service of Hong Kong Joseph WP Wong presented awards at the Secretary for the Civil Service's Commendation Awards Presentation Ceremony.

"The SAR Government values the positive contributions made by members of our civil service. Through the Departmental Commendation Letter Scheme and the Chief Executive's Honors and Awards System, we give recognition to deserving civil servants for their exemplary performance in serving the community.

"We have earlier this year introduced the Secretary for the Civil Service's Commendation Award Scheme. The scheme is launched to give awards to civil servants for their consistent meritorious performance in their daily work," said Wong.

Wong said that not only would meritorious performance be given due recognition under the existing commendation schemes, it is also a key qualifying criterion for the selection of eligible officers for promotion, and in the first eight months this year, a total of 1,087 officers in 93 grades have been promoted.

In the coming months, several hundred officers will receive their promotion letters as the departmental management completes the relevant exercises. Wong hoped that colleagues who receive the award today will get promoted and higher remuneration in the future.
 
(Xinhua News Agency September 18, 2004)