Category: Sigur Center 2022 Summer Fellows

In some cases, scholars need to refer to certain government policy documents and reports to collect and/or verify certain information. Scholars may choose to conduct literature searches online, browse governments’ websites, etc. This blog aims to provide a quick guide for scholars who are interested in getting access to Hong Kong’s government documents, especially historical ones.

Make an access to information request

In Hong Kong, the “Code on Access to Information” serves as a formal framework for the public’s access to the information held and maintained by the government departments. This code clarifies the scope of information that can be made available either routinely or upon request. Based on this Code, scholars who want to learn the most recent or historical government documents can send information requests to Access to Information Officers in relevant departments. Their specific email addresses and phone numbers can be found on this webpage. Per my experience of communicating with different government departments, the reply time can be somewhere between a week or three weeks. A phone call would be the most efficient way of getting to know if the documents are available or not.

In addition, if one document is only available in paper versions, scholars can go to the public enquiry counter of the government department for in-person inspection at a selected date. The public enquiry counter can provide a photocopying service if needed. Additionally, the public can also just take photos of the documents they request to inspect by using their digital devices (e.g., phones). I found that seeking advice from the staff at the public enquiry counter is efficient and useful – they can direct you to the right person from the right sub-division of their department for more information.

Government Records Service

Nevertheless, each government department may not hold all policy documents and reports from earlier decades. The best place for looking for such information is the Government Records Service (GRS), an agency that aims to preserve and promote the documentary heritage of Hong Kong.

Scholars (or the public) can start by using the online catalog provided and managed by the GRS to search and identify government documents, reports, and/or maps in need (see picture below). To review one specific document, one has to register an account on the GRS’s website, make a reservation for that document, and then select a date/time that he or she can go to the Hong Kong Public Records Building for inspection. Note that now the GRS only opens 15 seat slots per day.

When conducting a desk review of government documents at the GRS library, one may develop a new list of documents to be checked and reviewed. In such a case, scholars can use the computer at the GRS, log into their registered GRS account, and make a loan request online (this can only be done by using the GRS’s computers).  The staff there will help identify and prepare the documents immediately for one’s review and inspection. Nevertheless, when one document is defined as confidential, one will have to submit an access request, with the use of the documents clarified. Relevant government departments and the staff at the GRS will review the case and decide if they could grant access on a case-by-case basis.  The review and approval process can take up to a month.

A final note is that the GRS can also provide photocopying and/or digitization services at a set unit price; nevertheless, one can also take a photo of the document using one’s own digital devices (e.g., phones), as long as one signs a form and details the documents that he/she makes a digital copy.

Jingwen Zheng, Ph.D. in Public Policy Program 2024

Sigur Center 2022 Asian Field Research Fellow

Hong Kong SAR, China

Before this summer, I had never gone outside of the country. I had been a scholar of international affairs with no international scholarly experience. My friends, all of who had been out of the country at least once, warned me of the inbound culture shock I was sure to experience. They told stories of shadowy burglars and cunning pickpockets who targeted foreigners or shop vendors who willingly scammed naïve Americans for an extra buck.

“Go to Europe! It’ll feel much more like home. I hear London is very friendly toward Americans.”

“I don’t understand why you have to go to Asia! I hear it is very dangerous.”

They told me that the world was not a friendly place for American tourists. They said I would need to walk carefully, bag and belongings kept tight to my person, were I to avoid becoming another scare-story for other worried-sick tourists.
Nonetheless, despite these stories, I packed my bags and set off to my home away from home on the other side of the world.

Traveling to Taiwan this summer, I was one of 70 students to make the flight across the pacific, the first cohort of international students in over two years since the pandemic started. The program coordinator said we were making history. During the first week of my stay, I explored the far corners of my hotel room, counting the tiles on the ceiling, and waiting for the day I’d be free of the Marriott. The mandatory 7-day quarantine period felt like seven years as I paced around my hotel bed, trying desperately to spur some creative flow. But despite the gorgeous view from my 6th-floor room, there are only so many hours you can watch the clouds before you start to get bored.

Since early 2020, Taiwan has led the world in successful COIVD-19 mitigation practices. Throughout 2020 and 2021, as the rest of the world became bombarded by the Alpha and Omicron variants, Taiwan stayed closed, avoiding the unforeseen loss of life, but at the cost of social frustration and economic slowdown.

Walking along the streets, Taipei felt like a city out of hibernation; preparing for a new life three years deep into the “new normal.” During the majority of the pandemic, the government ordered residents to stay inside, limit contact with others, and if that was not possible, manage their own “social distance” even as the rest of the world forwent their restrictions and ushered in their new normal, albeit with significant growing pains

I traveled with CET, a study abroad program for students looking to improve their language skills in a target region. CET handled all the heavy lifting: housing, insurance, and tuition fees for the language program, amongst other odds and ends that ensured that our trip abroad was as painless as possible. They organized hikes, calligraphy classes, mediation workshops, and a whole host of activities to make students feel both engaged with their host culture and at home with their classmates.

But growing pains from COVID-19 still lingered. Unlike in the United States, where face coverings became a topic of political and social discordance, quickly shelved upon the CDC’s first word of unnecessity, indoor and outdoor mask usage has become the new normal, setting a trend that will likely stay for the foreseeable future. Of course, CET’s reentry into the post-COVID world also necessitated a few changes, such as the withdrawal of organized multiday activities, and a switch from housing with local students to solely with the CET cohort, all of which served as a constant reminder of the on-going COVID-19 pandemic.

Nonetheless, I am incredibly grateful I have been afforded this opportunity. The past two months I’ve spent in Taiwan have been a blast and a well-needed course in cultural immersion. I’m looking forward to spending more time abroad and sharing all of my experiences with friends back home.

Mark Warburton, B.A. International Affairs, Political Science 2023
Sigur Center 2022 Asian Language Fellow
National Taiwan University, Taiwan

I recently finished my mandatory 3 days plus 4 health monitoring period in Taiwan. The process of me getting here this summer has been somewhat unique. I share these experiences in hopes that it will be useful to future students who may find themselves in a similar situation.

I initially applied to ICLP at National Taiwan University, but after some consideration I decided the MTC at National Taiwan Normal University might be a better fit for me, so I applied there too.

Right now, the only way to get into Taiwan as a student is either to be studying for at least 6 months or to be a recipient of the Huayu Enrichment Scholarship (HES). These two are not mutually exclusive. There is a lot of information on the internet about this scholarship so I won’t go into detail here, but suffice it to say you have to submit your application to the TECO (defacto consulate) for the region in which you live.

Unfortunately, in my HES application I had written that I would be attending ICLP, so when I won the award my records were sent to ICLP (Apparently the school you attend has to fill out some paperwork and work with the Taiwanese Ministry of Education to get your visa approved). After weeks of back and forth trying to figure out what was going on and get the different agencies talking with one another I finally discovered the problem. By that time, the semester was fast approaching, and MTC basically said “it’s too late, we can’t help you.”

I decided to turn back to ICLP (whom I had already informed I would not be attending) to see if they would still accept me and help me get my visa. ICLP was eager to help, they were communicative and professional. They assured me that I could start the semester online and join in person as soon as I made it to Taiwan and completed my mandatory quarantine and health monitoring period. It still surprises me when I think of how unwilling MTC was to help.

As expected, I started classes while still in the States. The time difference meant that I wasn’t done with classes until 2 am every day. After 3 days of that I finally made it to Taiwan, and I have been attending classes virtually since then throughout my quarantine. Being the only student attending virtually in my classes is not ideal, but my teachers have been accommodating.

Taiwan’s current requirement is 3 days plus a 4 day self-monitoring period. The rules are somewhat vague, but what is clear is that you have to stay at the same quarantine hotel for the entire 7 days. On the fourth day you can venture out but there are limitations on what you can do and where you can go. You also have to show a negative covid test (every 2 days) and fill out a form explaining why you need to go out and when you will be back.

My quarantine hotel was chosen by ICLP. It included a twin size bed, a tiny desk, mini fridge, and a bathroom. They also provide things like dish soap and laundry detergent in case you need to hand wash dishes or clothes in the bathroom sink. I paid about $700 USD for the week, and that included 3 square meals a day. Some meals were delicious, others just passable. I appreciated that most meals came with a piece of fruit—usually an apple, banana, or kiwi. The food was almost exclusively Taiwanese cuisine, but you are allowed to order from companies like Uber Eats if you want to mix it up.

The Taiwanese government has hinted at opening up the borders and loosening quarantine restrictions even further, but I don’t expect that to happen anytime soon. If you are planning to come to Taiwan this fall, I would prepare for the 3+4 quarantine policy to still be in effect.

Caleb Darger, M.A. Global Communication 2022

Sigur Center 2022 Asian Language Fellow

National Taiwan University, Taiwan