根治長期病患的香港政府需固本培元 The Hong Kong government needs to fix the root cause of the chronic diseases that it is suffering
香港抗疫工作並不理想的事實已經無可辯駁，政府領導班子對社會構成的混亂亦責無旁態。無論是當初沒有完善檢察機組人員居家隔離機制、政府部門和學校沒有及時按疫情變得嚴重時限制上班上學方式、到農曆年仍然容許各處大量人群聚集、及後更沒有做好葵涌邨的圍封、和在沒有配套及足夠病毒傳播的保護環境下、強逼市民暴露在高風險環境下進行跨區的強制檢測的種種安排上，明顯多次處理失當。 愚公認為，人類公敵當前的嚴峻時刻，社會與其花精力找出誰要被問責，不如先探討其根本問題，再對症下藥。
抗疫工作一直事倍功半的原因可以在以下照片中找到蛛絲馬跡。 當政府各部門一直關心的衹是劃清界限，將納稅人幸苦掙來託付于他們的金錢也用白化在無謂的小事情而不是投放在實質工作上。 自然地，每次需要平衡輕重緩急的時候，往往會以「打好份工」為首要目的而做成頗多的不妥當決定。 正因為各部政府門有各自爲政的不正之風，對待同樣的問題往往導致行政及自動化及信息系統也變得難以共享及按時更替。
不斷執行重複的錯誤行為會養成壞習慣、重複地跟隨壞習慣處事會更把錯誤的價值觀及信念變得合理。 回歸多年，這畫清界限的行為在本來已經固化及趕不上社會發展步伐的體制下就像毒瘤不斷蔓延。 非常時期，正是推出非常措施的良機。 疫情也正是一面雪亮的照妖鏡，但願社會各界能儘快想出法子打通政府多年閉塞的經絡，儘快把推動數據共享為首的計畫落實。也希望政府裡面有股改革的新力量，摒棄從殖民年代已經開始建立的各家自掃門前雪的處時方式。 科技應用已經是全球先進甚至發展中的城市的重要一環。
由於香港高級公務員體制一向沒有持續學習科技應用的傳統，導致在科技應用的各種決策上每每不合情理。 政府物業管理以劃地為界的做法雖然浪費資源，卻也勉強可以執行。但科技應用講求的是綜合處理、信息及資源共享。 衛生局需要數長時間才能快速測試陽性呈報平台、每每需要數日甚至一星期才能把本來簡單的居家隔離令教到患者手中等本來不需要發生的問題正是「數據穀倉效益」的典型問題而導致。 但願疫情這面照妖鏡可以把問題清楚呈現在大家眼前後，社會及中央政府可以儘快想出對策利用合適的科技及制定真正的智慧城市及智慧政府長遠發展藍圖將政府的結構性問題根治才是辦法。
The fact that Hong Kong’s fight against the epidemic was unsatisfactory is irrefutable, and the government leadership is responsible for the chaos in the community. Whether it was the failure to improve the home quarantine mechanism for the inspection team, the failure of government departments and schools to restrict access to work and school in a timely manner when the epidemic became serious, the failure to allow large crowds to gather in various places in the Lunar New Year, the failure to properly fence off Kwai Chung Estate, and the failure to force people to be exposed to a high-risk environment for mandatory cross-district testing in the absence of an adequate protective environment for the spread of the virus, it is clear that there were many instances of mismanagement. It is obvious that the matter has been mishandled times after times. In my humble opinion, at this critical time for the public enemy of mankind, instead of spending energy to find out who should be held accountable, society should first explore the root of the problem and then prescribe the right remedy.
The reason for the half-hearted efforts to combat the epidemic can be found in the above photos. When all government departments are concerned with is drawing a line in the sand and spending taxpayers’ hard-earned money entrusted to them on trivial matters instead of on real work. Naturally, whenever there is a need to balance priorities, many poor decisions are made with the primary goal of “getting the job done. Because of the unhealthy and inherited culture of fragmentation across government departments, it is often difficult to share and update administrative and automation and information systems to deal with the same problems.
Repeated wrongdoing creates bad habits, and repeatedly following bad habits justifies wrong values and beliefs. Over the years of the reunification, this clear-cut behavior has spread like a cancer in a system that has become entrenched and has failed to keep up with the pace of social development. This is a good opportunity to introduce extraordinary measures at an extraordinary time. The epidemic is also a crystal clear demon-spotting mirror. I hope that the community can find a way to open up the government’s long-closed silos and implement the data-sharing project as soon as possible. I also hope that there will be a new force for reform in the government, and that it will abandon the time-sensitive approach that has been in place since the colonial era. The use of technology is already an important part of advanced and even developing cities around the world.
Hong Kong’s senior civil service has no tradition of continuous learning about the use of technology, resulting in unconscionable decisions about its proper use. Government's property management is a waste of resources by working independently, but it is still enforceable. However, technology application is about integrated processing, information and resource sharing. Problems such as the length of time it takes for the Health Department to rapid test positive reporting platforms, and the days or even weeks it takes to get home isolation orders to patients, are typical of the “data silos” problem. Hopefully, after the epidemic eased off, the community and the central government will be able to come up with a solution as soon as possible, using appropriate technology and formulating a long-term blueprint for the development of a truly smart city and smart government that will cure the structural problems of the government.
