Enhancing e-Government in the HKSAR

Youth I.D.E.A.S 29

Governance and Constitutional Development

Enhancing e-Government in the HKSAR

26 April, 2018

An online survey last month on 648 young people aged 18 – 34 noted that more than 70% (71.1%) of respondents had used online Government services during the past 12 months. Of them, “for convenience” (76.4%) and “time saving” (13.0%) were the two major reasons for using these services.

Among the users, close to 47% (46.8%) said the services were satisfactory. A similar percentage (45.8%) said the services were fair. 30% (30.1%) of them were discontented with the insufficient linkage of government department websites. This was closely followed by the fact that 28% of them were not happy with the complex steps for usage.

Nearly 40% (39.4%) of respondents opted for “simplicity and user-friendly” when asked about the most important criteria for e-Government services. More than 35% (35.7%) took a point that effective e-Government services could increase their interactions with the government.

The HKSAR Government strives to build Hong Kong into a world class smart city. E-Government is an important element in building a smart city. Yet, close to 32% (31.7%) of respondents were not confident that HK could meet this goal in 5 years. The percentage was the double of those who showed confidence.

Young people in today’s world are familiar with technology application, and they will be the main users of the future e-Government services. Their views and experiences in this aspect needed to be considered. In view of the fact that the world is moving towards a digital age, it is worth paying more attention to applying new technology in public service provision so that both the functionality and usability of e-Government services could be enhanced.