Kalmia

Kalmia-slægten (Kalmia) er udbredt med nogle få arter i Nordamerika. Her omtales kun de arter, som dyrkes i Danmark.
- Bredbladet Kalmia (Kalmia latifolia)
- Kalmia polifolia
- Smalbladet Kalmia (Kalmia angustifolia)

Eksternt link

- [http://dmoz.org/Science/Biology/Flora_and_Fauna/Plantae/Magnoliophyta/Magnoliopsida/Ericaceae/Kalmia/ dmoz: Kalmia]

Litteratur

- Richard A. Jaynes: Kalmia. Mountain Laurel and Related Species, 1997, ISBN 0881923672 Kategori:Planteslægter ja:カルミア属

Principal Officials Accountability System

Principal Officials Accountability System (主要官員問責制, often abbreviated to POAS, 高官問責制 or 問責制) was introduced by Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa in July 2002, the beginning of his second term, as part of his government reform programme. The main purpose for the creation of this system was to ward off public complaints that he leads a disunited and weak government.

Overview

Background

Hong Kong after the transfer of sovereignty had inherited the colonial system that all positions in the government are filled by civil servants. This was largely because the system had the merit of efficiency, and had contributed to the success and prosperity of Hong Kong. It was also seen as a symbol of continuity and stability. Nevertheless, Tung was a businessman, who has little experience in politics and public administration. Secretaries of the government had no prior working relations with him. The introduction of the system was seen as an opportunity for him to appoint his subordinates, who will no longer necessary be from the civil services, according to his wishes.

Operations

The POAS is similar to the cabinet of the United States Federal Government in that the Chief Executive is responsible for nominating and replacing the officials. This is a radical departure from the previous system, where secretaries, who are heads of policy bureaux came from the civil service. The POAS officials serve at the Chief's Executive's pleasure, and they are, in theory, held accountable for policy errors and mishaps (as in resigning when major policy flops or scandals occur). In the past only the Chief Secretary, Financial Secretary and Secretary for Justice are ex-officio members of the Executive Council. Unofficial members were majority in the council. After the introduction of the POAS, all secretaries are appointed to the council, and leaders of the larger parties in the Legislative Council are appointed to the council, effectively transforming the council into a cabinet, with the unofficial members like ministers-without-portfolio.

Flaws

However, accountability did not increase in practice, for former Chief Executive Tung often ignored the policy errors and scandals made by his POAS officials, and asked them to stay. Good examples would be Antony Leung (see Lexusgate scandal for more details), Frederick Ma with his responsibility in a stock crisis that evaporated billions of dollars worth of stock value, and Regina Ip with her controversial promotion of the Basic Law Article 23. It is the belief of many Hong Kong people that under the POAS system, accountability actually decreased. Faith in the system, not high in the beginning already, fell to new lows in 2003, leading many people to dub the system AAS (Accountability Avoidance System). The protection Tung offered to his beleaguered officials was one of the factors that led to the 1 July protest in which hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong people participated. Only after the protest did Tung reluctantly accepted the resignation of Ip and Leung. Ma remains unscathed.

Future

The future of the POAS remains unclear. The current Chief Executive, Donald Tsang (himself a former POAS official) has vowed not to replace any of the POAS officials who were in office before his inauguration. However, it is not known if Tsang would scrap or extensively reform the system after he wins an election in his own right in 2007. However, many Hong Kong people believe that Tsang would hold his POAS officials more accountable for everything they do, and dismiss them when they need to. Category:Politics of Hong Kong Category:Government of Hong Kong

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