Officials' overseas duty trips accumulate nearly $40 mn in expenses in five years

A total of 437 overseas duty visits by the 21 principal officials have incurred about HK$39.46 million in expenses over the past five years, with Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po as the top spender at HK$10.63 million.

According to the authorities, Chan attended various international and regional summits during his 31 trips, with destinations ranging from the mainland, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, France, Spain, Australia, Indonesia and Peru.

Meanwhile, the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau Ying-wah made the most trips among the officials, with 43 visits, which included stops to Peru, France, and Hungary, at a cost of HK$5.74 million.

Additionally, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui Chin-yu made 29 visits to locations such as England and Spain, with expenses amounting to HK$3.58 million.

Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Sun Dong undertook 35 trips, costing HK$3.16 million, while the Secretary for Education Choi Yuk-lin traveled 30 times, incurring expenses of HK$2.68 million.

The officials with the least travel were the Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration Warner Cheuk Wing-hing, and the Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun,  each making only three visits, costing HK$60,000 and HK$230,000 respectively.

Cheuk's visits included Guangzhou, Beijing, Hainan, and Macau, while Wong accompanied the Chief Executive on overseas visits and attend the China Conference 2025.

The government stated that the number of overseas trips by principal officials is determined by the policy bureaux or relative departments based on actual needs.