Editorial | Mediation between residents and officials can only benefit Hong Kong
The ombudsman has taken mediation to a new level, resolving almost three times the number of cases as in the previous year
Meanwhile, the ombudsman has taken mediation to a new level in his role as an independent watchdog on public administration. Since Jack Chan Jick-chi became ombudsman in April 2024, he has focused more on using mediation to address residents’ complaints. In the 2024-2025 reporting year, his office said it had resolved 555 cases through mediation, nearly triple the 187 in the previous year. In contrast, the number of cases that led to full investigations dropped by more than half to 40, from 95.
Speaking at the ceremony, Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki touched on how civil servants should respond to feedback from residents that reflected their expectations for the government’s work.
“I encourage all the civil servants to treat complaints with an open mindset, and transcend complaints into momentum to build a better Hong Kong,” he said, while also hailing mediation as a means of building a more harmonious society. “Many complaints were not a matter of right or wrong, but misunderstandings between residents and government departments,” he said.
Mediation between officials and aggrieved residents can only be positive for the quality and empathy of public service. The academy, too, is a welcome initiative that shows the Office of the Ombudsman remains relevant and as much needed now by the public as when it was established 36 years ago. It is good that it is sharing skills and experience with its counterparts on a continuing basis.