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Government what governmen t doe s | government-citizen dialogu e | government capacity-buildin g hy d o yo u thin k governmen t exists ? Genera l disillusionment wit h governmen t i s a commo n them e o f our times. People see politics as cynical, unprincipled and overly adversarial. The y d o no t fee l thei r politica l leader s reall y represent them . In the lon g term, this ma y promp t fundamenta l changes i n th e wa y tha t government s operate . Whil e thes e broader issue s ar e outsid e o f th e scop e o f thi s Handbook , w e do believ e tha t w e wil l se e th e emergenc e o f a ne w compac t between peopl e and their governments i n the coming years. Many politica l commentator s agre e wit h this view. The goal s o f government ar e changing. Governments nee d to do mor e tha n just delive r thei r view s t o a waitin g public . The y nee d t o encourage civi l societ y a s a n agen t o f dialogue . Leaders nee d to encourage peopl e to reasses s an d redefin e their obligation s to eac h othe r an d therefor e t o society . Peopl e toda y expec t t o play a rol e i n decision-making. The goa l o f th e Sustainabilit y Tools projec t i s t o develo p publi c processe s tha t involv e concerned individual s an d group s i n makin g decision s abou t public issues . Th e ide a tha t politica l powe r shoul d b e highl y concentrated o r exclusiv e i s old-fashione d an d outdated . I n a w Getting Heard Government society tha t i s increasingl y drive n b y knowledge , politica l powe r becomes mor e dispersed . Politica l leader s becom e th e enabler s an d facilitators for their communities . Aims of government s Governments try to do at least three things: Communicate - Firstly , governmen t trie s t o ensur e tha t th e general public understands what it is doing: what activities it is doing now, what i t has already done and what i t plans to do in the future. Control - Secondly , government tries to ensure that the public makes som e retur n t o governmen t b y complyin g wit h government programme s an d abidin g b y th e law s tha t government ha s passed . Fo r example , th e HKSA R Government want s yo u to vote, drive o n the left-han d sid e o f the road , wea r you r seatbelt , pa y taxes , vaccinat e you r children an d give them a minimum of nine years of education. If you don't vote, this is your choice but if you don't wear a seat belt in the car, you may be penalised. Support - Thirdly , the governmen t woul d lik e you to suppor t it s decisions o n establishe d programme s o r policies , a s wel l a s supporting establishe d institutiona l structures , suc h a s th e education system, the tax system, the economic system and so on. Gaining politica l support for your caus e Each da y i n Hon g Kon g a t al l level s o f government , electe d representatives an d appointee s i n variou s publi c bodie s ar e makin g decisions that will affect yo u and society at large. Through a n effectiv e government relation s programme , yo u an d you r organisatio n ca n educate decision-makers , ensurin g bette r governmen t understandin g of th e issue s tha t concer n you . See Chapte r 1 0 for mor e informatio n about ho w th e HKSA R Governmen t operates . Contac t detail s fo r various governmen t agencie s an d representative s ar e provide d i n the appendices. You an d you r organisatio n ar e powerfu l advocate...

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