Top government adviser says longer term planning against volatile energy prices needed
發佈日期: 2026-04-19 23:01
TVB News
Convenor of the Executive Council Regina Ip said the government should plan medium and long term strategies to tackle volatile fuel prices amid the ongoing Middle East crisis.
Crude oil prices remain fluctuating as uncertainties in the Middle East continue.
In early April, the government announced four short-term measures to address rising fuel prices, including subsidising three dollars for every litre of diesel for two months to reduce the operating costs of public and commercial vehicles.
Speaking on a TVB programme, convenor of the Executive Council Regina Ip said the subsidy programme might be insufficient at this stage and that the government should outline medium and long term strategies.
Asked if authorities needed to introduce a cap on fuel prices to tackle the expensive non-renewable energy, which has always been the case in Hong Kong, the top government adviser said a more comprehensive review would be required.
Ip said, "We don't have crude oil production and we don't have refineries. We buy from the international market and the price is linked to an international pricing mechanism which we cannot interfere with...If we put a cap on the price they charge, I think the government will have to subsidise. I think the government should look at how other governments are responding. Some have removed their duties; some have put a cap; some have increased subsidies."
Separately, the government said the Heads under the Department Accountability System would exclude Permanent Secretaries, who handle policy formulation, legislation planning, personnel management and resource allocation, because they were not defined as "department heads."
Ip said a permanent secretary would be held accountable differently. "They work very closely with bureau directors. They are accountable to the bureau directors. If they don't perform well, they would be transferred out or given very poor ratings, so a different system should applied to them."
As to what the government should do to reinforce the public's confidence in civil servants after the Tai Po fire, in light of evidence suggested at public hearings that government departments might have shirked responsibility, Ip said she's certain that every involved person "would be dealt separately."
