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) is the Executive (government), executive authorities of Hong Kong. It was established on 1 July 1997, following the ...

'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 The British Armed Forces are the unified military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, support international peacekeeping ef ...

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 on Queen's Road Central. In the 1970s, ISD launched new social development campaigns that are now ingrained in the

collective memory Collective memory is 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 collect ...

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 (Chinese: 上環) is an List of places in Hong Kong, area in Hong Kong, located in the north-west of Hong Kong Island, between Central, Hong Kong, Central and Sai Ying Pun. Administratively, it is part of the Central and Weste ...

. 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 ) is a government employee who investigates and tries to resolve complaints, usually through recommendations (binding or not) or mediation. They are usually appointed by the government or by parliament (often with a sign ...

confirmed that there would be a full investigation into the matter. In January 2023, the Ombudsman agreed with the ISD, and said that revealing the method to screen journalists could aid "terrorists." 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 Freedom of the press, press freedom was in decline, to provide an independent alternativ ...

'' (HKFP) asked the ISD about why they could not attend, the ISD told HKFP to contact the event organizer. In April 2023, the ISD banned several government-registered media companies from covering the 2023 National Security Education Day, which was officiated by

Xia Baolong Xia Baolong (; born 2 December 1952) is a Chinese politician. Originally from Tianjin, Xia began his political career in the Communist Youth League. He served as the vice mayor of Tianjin, governor and Party Secretary of Zhejiang province. Betw ...

. In May 2023, the

agreed to investigate ''HKFP's'' complaint against the ISD for banning media outlets from the event. In May 2023, the Foreign Correspondents' Club (FCC) issued a press release on the issue, stating "Media outlets being barred from covering public events raises concerns over the future of press freedom in Hong Kong, which is guaranteed under Article 27 of the Basic Law." In July 2023, the Ombudsman said it had to "refrain from making comments on the matter" as the Committee for Safeguarding National Security had banned the media.

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 Government agencies established in 1959 1959 establishments in Hong Kong Hong Kong government departments and agencies