Immigration gets change at the helm

Deputy director of immigration Benson Kwok Joon-fung will get the top job on September 19 with the retirement of Au Ka-wang on Monday, sources said.

That means today's passing out parade will be the last time Au attends as department head.

As deputy director, Kwok is responsible for immigration control, visa and identity documents.

Having joined in 1989 as an assistant immigration officer, Kwok has climbed through the ranks in his 34 years, accumulating extensive experience in operations and management along the way.

Early on, he was tasked with studying fake travel papers and combating illegal immigration, earning himself a reputation as an "expert in fake IDs."

He was appointed commander of multiple border control points, and was seconded to the security and civil service bureaus as assistant secretary general in 2008 and 2010, respectively, to formulate policies regarding immigration and civil servants' discipline.

In 2014, Kwok was appointed to be one of the officers stationed at the SAR government's office in Beijing to liaise with mainland counterparts and provide assistance to Hongkongers.

Upon his return in 2017, he led its counterterrorism division in the interdepartmental counterterrorism unit under the Security Bureau.

He became assistant director in charge of visa and policies, and was later transferred to take charge of control points, before being promoted to his present position in September 2021.

Kwok holds a bachelor's degree in business from Monash University and a master's in public administration from the University of Hong Kong.

He also made trips to mainland institutions for courses on national affairs, as well as train in the mainland, the UK and France.

Au, who joined in 1988 and became director in 2020, sits on the government's committee for safeguarding national security.

Under his leadership, the department made use of technology to improve its service delivery, including the implementation of the contactless e-Channel, rolling out the new "1868" hotline system and replacing the identity cards of all Hongkongers.