The Information Services Department (ISD) is the
Hong Kong Government
The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government, refers to the executive authorities of Hong Kong SAR. It was formed on 1 July 1997 in accordance with the Sino- ...
's public relations office, publisher, advertiser, and news agency, serving as the link between the government and the media. It was also commonly called Government Information Services (GIS).
History
In September 1945, following the end of the
Japanese occupation, the
British Forces appointed a Press Relations Officer to communicate with remaining war correspondents. The unit was retitled as the Public Relations Office (PRO) when the civilian administration resumed governance of Hong Kong in 1946. The PRO was renamed as the Information Services Department (ISD) on 1 April 1959.
On 8 June 1963, ISD's headquarters moved from the fifth and sixth floors of the West Wing of the
Central Government Offices to the top two floors of the new
Beaconsfield House
Beaconsfield House () was a government office building in Hong Kong's Central district.
Built in 1963, the building was home to the Information Services Department until it was demolished along with the neighbouring Hong Kong Hilton in 1995 t ...
on Queen's Road Central.
In the 1970s, ISD launched new social development campaigns that are now ingrained in the
collective memory
Collective memory refers to the shared pool of memories, knowledge and information of a social group that is significantly associated with the group's identity. The English phrase "collective memory" and the equivalent French phrase "la mémoire ...
of Hong Kong people. These included the Keep Hong Kong Clean Campaign, which was promoted using the iconic ''Lap Sap Chung'' litterbug character designed by ISD officer Arthur Hacker.
Following the 1995 sale of Beaconsfield House to a private developer, the Information Services Department relocated to the nearby
Murray Building in 1996.
Today, it is headquartered at the Harbour Building in
Sheung Wan
Sheung Wan is an area in Hong Kong, located in the north-west of Hong Kong Island, between Central and Sai Ying Pun. Administratively, it is part of the Central and Western District. The name can be variously interpreted as ''Upper Dis ...
. It also once had offices in the
Former French Mission Building.
In July 2022, the department rejected an Access to Information request after some media outlets were banned from covering events regarding 25th anniversary events on
1 July 2022. In response, the
Ombudsman
An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...
confirmed that there would be a full investigation into the matter.
In September 2022, Fletch Chan, head of the department, was part of a team that organized of a media event with
John Lee.
When ''
Hong Kong Free Press
Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP) is a free, non-profit news website based in Hong Kong. It was co-founded in 2015 by Tom Grundy, who believed that the territory's press freedom was in decline, to provide an alternative to the dominant English-language ...
'' (HKFP) asked the ISD about why they could not attend, the ISD told HKFP to contact the event organizer.
Organisation
The department is organised into four divisions:
*Local Public Relations
*Publicity and Promotions
*Public Relations Outside Hong Kong
*Administration
Directors
References
;Bibliography
*
External links
*
{{authority control
1959 establishments in Hong Kong
Hong Kong government departments and agencies