Director of Housing Stanley Ying is said to be a seasoned administrative officer, although former legislator David Li once called him arrogant
NG KANG-CHUNGkc.ng@scmp.com
PUBLISHED : Monday, 24 August, 2015, 4:35am
UPDATED : Monday, 24 August, 2015, 4:35am
Stanley Ying is considered to be a capable officer, although he has been involved in some controversies. Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
Director of Housing Stanley Ying Yiu-hong would hardly have imagined his trouble would come from water.
A career civil servant with decades of experience in public administration, Ying left many puzzled last month when he was forced into offering a public apology for having given contradictory information about the use of prefabricated material made on the mainland for Kai Ching public housing estate in Kowloon Bay - the first estate where lead was found in water samples.
Now dubbed "Hong Kong watergate", the lead contamination saga was first brought to the attention of various political parties early this year in an anonymous letter of complaint. While rival politicians took it lightly, Democrat Helena Wong Pik-wan picked it up quickly and made it big.
The Water Supplies Department was the first government agency to bear the brunt of public criticism.
But discontent quickly spilled over to Ying's department, which is responsible for overseeing the building and maintenance of Hong Kong's public housing estates.
Mainland-made materials were said to be a possible source.
Apparently based on information fed by Ying's department, Secretary for Transport and Housing Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung sought to dismiss the fears and said in a radio interview on July 13 that only a "small amount" of prefabricated mainland material was used at Kai Ching Estate.
Ying gave the same message to the media in the afternoon. But a government press release that evening revealed that half of the flats in the estate contained bathroom and kitchen pipes prefabricated on the mainland.
At a press conference the following day, Ying's boss, Cheung, offered an apology. But Ying continued to argue, saying: "A reporter used the phrase 'a small amount' when raising the question, so I naturally followed with 'a small amount' when I answered."
It was not until later in the evening that Ying issued an apology in a statement by his department, saying "he was sorry that due to the fact that it took time to compile the relevant data, confusion was caused by the inconsistent information given at different times by [Professor Cheung] and the Housing Department".
He is not an expert in housing. He did not build the flats or the pipes
DEMOCRAT SIN CHUNG-KAI
He was forced into offering a public apology in person at a press conference on the following day.
Ying declined to comment on his performance in handling the lead water saga, but hailed his staff for their professionalism in the face of a highly politicised issue.
"It would not be appropriate for me to comment on my performance," said Ying, in a written reply to South China Morning Post inquiries.
"As for our staff, I have thanked them for coming together as a team at this difficult time for the department, doing our duty to tenants of our estates. I am confident that all my colleagues will remain dedicated and continue to embrace the challenges with professionalism as we always do," he said.
Legislator Sin Chung-kai from the Democratic Party, who has known Ying since their days at university, is sympathetic to Ying's difficulties.
"He had worked for a long time in the financial units of the government and had taken long leave before returning to work," said Sin, adding it was not fair to blame Ying for all the problems.
"He is not an expert in housing. He did not build the flats or the pipes.
"But he is a smart guy and a well-trained, seasoned government administrative officer. I am confident that he can catch up quickly and overcome the difficulty," Sin added.
Now aged 55, Ying joined the government in 1983 after graduating from the University of Hong Kong.
He has served in various bureaus and departments, including the former constitutional affairs branch and the chief secretary's office.
He was permanent secretary for security from 2003 to 2007, before becoming permanent secretary for financial services and the treasury - a post he held until 2012. He took long leave afterwards to handle family matters. On his return to work in 2013, he was seconded to the Competition Commission as secretary general.
He assumed the post of permanent secretary for transport and housing and director of housing in April last year, succeeding Duncan Pescod, who retired from the government and is now chief executive of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority.
Having worked in the Housing Department for some 16 months, Ying won praise from the staff union, which is usually a vocal critic of management.
Lam Fai-chung, president of the Hong Kong Housing Department Employees General Union, praised Ying as a caring and supportive leader. "Ying is a good director. He is willing to listen to staff views and is very supportive of frontline colleagues. Perhaps because he is a local Chinese, culturally he at least knows better about the local situation than Pescod," said Lam.
Ying is perhaps best remembered for being criticised in 2003 by then banking sector legislator David Li Kwok-po for being "arrogant". The dispute between Li and Ying stemmed from a Legislative Council meeting in which the government was seeking funding for new posts. Legislators were unhappy and postponed a decision.
After the meeting, Ying forgot to turn off his microphone and was heard telling his colleagues that the legislators had "wasted our time" and that he would complain to then chief secretary Donald Tsang Yam-kuen.
Ying refused to apologise, saying he had only spoken to his colleagues as he was "disheartened". Li accused Ying of being "arrogant" and said he was "not suitable to be a civil servant."
Lesser known perhaps is Ying's alleged role in an international controversy that broke out in 2012 over the rendition of a Libyan terrorist suspect and his family back to his homeland, where the man faced six years of torture and persecution.
Hong Kong was accused of colluding with the US and British secret services. The city's alleged role was detailed in confidential documents unearthed at the headquarters of former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi's spy chief after the regime was toppled in 2011.
The documents listed Ying - then permanent secretary for security - as a key contact to ensure the rendition was carried out successfully.
The Libyan man, Sami al-Saadi, was a vocal opponent of Gaddafi, but was considered a terrorist by the West. In March 2004, he and his family were detained at Hong Kong International Airport for almost two weeks before they were forced on to a secret flight to the Libyan capital, according to news reports.
Profile for Stanley Ying
Age: 55
Education:
1982 – University of Hong Kong, bachelor of social science
Key posts:
1999-2000 – senior assistant director of education
2000-03 – deputy secretary for the treasury (later renamed deputy secretary for financial services and the treasury)
2003-07 – permanent secretary for security
2007-12 – permanent secretary for financial services and the treasury
2013-14 – Competition Commission secretary general
2014-present – permanent secretary for transport and housing and director of housing
Public service:
1998 – Justice of the Peace
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1851992/hong-kong-official-who-got-deep-water-over-lead-water
