Serendipity

各位同事：

我懷着沉重的心情寫這封信。經歷了45年的公務生涯，我從沒想過要為我所珍重的核心價值―誠信―作出交代。

我明白近日有關我外遊和退休計劃的連串報道，為我所領導並共事的公務員隊伍帶來不安。令我特別痛心的，是有批評指我‘嚴以律人，寬以待己’。

讓我在此鄭重向各位表明，在誠信問題上我不會寬待自己，因為我知道誠信是良好管治的基石。事實上，我對自己的誠信要求只會更高，多年來與我共事過的無數同事，相信可以為我作這見證。

日前我公開交代了連串事件的細節，並宣布成立獨立檢討委員會，由前任終審法院首席法官李國能擔任主席，負責檢視有關防止行政長官、政治委任官員和行政會議非官方成員出現利益衝突的現有規例。各位可能已經在媒體報道得知這事，但我仍然希望在這裏夾附有關的新聞公布(http://j.mp/ym4heA)和我在南華早報發表的一篇文章(http://j.mp/wpIjG7)。

為貫徹高透明度的精神，我會應邀出席立法會本星期四的特別答問大會，坦誠回答議員的提問，盡力釋除公眾的疑慮。

這深刻的一課讓我學會了日後處事必須更小心謹慎。經一事，長一智——我願視這教訓為得着。

我會繼續在餘下任期做好我的工作，盡心勉力服務香港，為全體市民謀取最佳福祉。香港公務員隊伍勤勉專業，我期望繼續得到各位的支持和協助。

香港特別行政區行政長官曾蔭權

二零一二年二月二十八日

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28 February 2012

Dear Colleagues,

I write to you with a heavy heart.  After 45 years of public service, I never expected that I would have to address questions about my integrity, a core value that I cherish.

I know that the recent media coverage of my travel and retirement plans must have been unsettling for the civil service that I lead and with which I work so closely.  What I find especially hurtful are the criticisms that I have been tough on the civil service but lenient on myself.

Let me assure you all that I expect no less of myself when it comes to integrity, the cornerstone of good governance.  In fact, I expect more of myself and I certainly hope that those of you who have worked with me over the years would know that to be true.

I have provided an account of recent events and announced the establishment of an independent committee headed by the former Chief  Justice of the Court of Final Appeal, Mr Andrew Li, to review the existing rules that guard against conflicts of interest for the Chief  Executive, political appointees and non-official members of Executive Council. You may have seen newspaper coverage on these developments but I have attached the statements that I have made (http://j.mp/ym4heA) as well as an article that I wrote for the Sunday Post (http://j.mp/wpIjG7). 

In the spirit of transparency, I have just accepted an invitation from the Legislative Council to answer Members’ questions on Thursday. I will try my utmost to clear any residual doubts about my actions at this meeting.

I have learned a hard lesson, but I remain hopeful that something constructive will come out of it. 

In the meantime, I will continue to dedicate myself to the service of Hong Kong and its people and to work in the best interests of the public.  For this, I will continue to count on the support, dedication and professionalism of our fine civil service.

Yours sincerely,

Donald Tsang