HONG KONG: "To me, who spent the entire Chinese New Year holidays preparing the budget, in the chilly early spring when fine rain drizzles, drinking a cup of hot tea while perusing the document in hand - makes me feel at ease in mind."

This blog sounds no different from any other moody diaries on the Internet, but the blogger, who is in charge of Hong Kong's annual budget and financial affairs, is of vital interest to everyone living in the city.

The excerpt was from Financial Secretary John Tsang's latest article "About the Budget" on his personal Web column on Sunday, just a few days before this Wednesday when he is due to deliver the government's budget for the coming financial year.

"With this year's budget consultation carried out, more and more people started asking me to 'distribute gifts'. To be honest, I do not like it, which sounds like an adult showing a good gesture to the child! As civil servants participating in public affairs, we should serve the public in humility and self-respect. How could our decisions be regarded as givings?" Tsang said in an article titled "I Don't Distribute Candies" in his column.

Tsang started his blog in the popular Yahoo website to share his life with the public last year. It is more like a mirror image of his job, as his life centers around the city's economy.

The blogs could be deemed as Tsang's latest approach to raise public awareness of the budget, but it is not his first try. In addition to attending public consultations, Tsang has appeared in television and Internet advertisements, trying to apply all sorts of modern media to get citizens involved.

To arouse the interest of typically politically inactive young people, for the second year, he distributed 30,000 copies of comic books to promote the budget. The story is centered around a group of students and reflects on Hong Kong's current economic situation and the issues they have to deal with. Tsang hopes it will inspire the young readers.

Those unconventional approaches received mixed reviews. Tsang said as long as public attention is drawn to the issues, the efforts will pay off.

Lee Kam-hon, professor of marketing in the Chinese University of Hong Kong said he would not mind as long as the budget itself turns out to be a good one.

"Those interesting measures could enhance the acceptance of the budget on one condition: that the budget is full of innovative ideas and serious deliberations," said Lee, who added that "if the budget is solid, then those methods will help to enhance its degree of approval."

Tsang knows it is challenging, but remains undeterred. "I know that in the work to allocate resources it is difficult to satisfy everyone, but as a public servant, as long as I have a clear conscience and work for the sake of the people, I am fulfilling my fundamental obligations," Tsang said in the blog.

(HK Edition 02/23/2010 page2)