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Research officer Wan Wai-kwok (left) and chief archivist Sarah Choy. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

Legco archivists say law must be enacted to preserve public documents

The city's only two certified archivists explain importance of preservation

It would be easy to regard Sarah Choy Cheung-ching and Wan Wai-kwok as a pair of sophisticated paper pushers - they are Hong Kong's only two certified archivists. But their work takes in much more, of course, requiring both sleuthing and historical understanding.

Choy, who left the Government Records Service (GRS) after two decades to help set up the Legco Archives in 2012, is now the Legislative Council's chief archivist.

Yet such a career was never on the cards for Choy, who was about to start a doctoral programme in political science abroad when she returned to Hong Kong for a break. She wound up going for a job interview at the GRS, and has never looked back.

She still recalls her first assignment at the GRS: a request from a foreigner.

"He wanted to trace his family history in Hong Kong. But the only information I had was the name of his great-great-great grandfather, who had cows and land in Pok Fu Lam.

I helped him do research and dig up wills, local directories, and company documents that show the firm his ancestor worked for in Hong Kong and the post he held. It's like detective work," she says.

"You have to look for the minutest details, like whether a certain shop number on a certain street in a certain year has changed. People might find such work tedious, but I get a lot of satisfaction when I can help people find what they want."

Choy and Wan, who was also with the GRS, now work out of a building in the Tamar government complex that houses the Legco archives.

Fitted with fireproof walls, 24-hour temperature and humidity monitoring systems, and UV-free lights, this is where documents about the history and development of Hong Kong's legislature are preserved for posterity.

By setting up its own archives and opening access to the public (the information will be available from September), Legco is at the forefront of a drive to improve accountability in government.

The records of public organisations, from government departments to statutory institutions, are vital so that citizens can scrutinise activities conducted on their behalf.

Without such documents, the public cannot assess how choices are being made - and press for improvements.

But Hong Kong has yet to enact an archives law to preserve public documents. Without this legal requirement, government departments can dispose of documents as they wish.

Officials destroyed more than 3.5 million sheets of records during the six months it took to relocate the central government offices from Government Hill in Central to the new Tamar complex in 2011 - a blunder which drew fierce criticism.

That's why the Legco's archival effort is significant.

"Since Legco was set up in 1843, it has never had a building and system to preserve documents. The council decided to take advantage of the relocation to set one up and took out an advert to recruit a chief archivist," Choy says.

Documents stored at the government archive in Admiralty.

Even so, it took a lot of effort to explain to Legco secretariat staff what archiving meant - preserving documents created in regular activity (like letters, reports, photos and videos) for long-term reference.

"I have to persuade them to part with their documents and send them to us for retention," she says.

Choy explains: "Many mistakenly think that only the [most recent] reports are worth preserving. But if you want to understand a policy, you have to know the whole process - how it came about, how it developed, how it was implemented and what effects it had on society. So we should keep [documents relating to those procedures] which are factual evidence."

Without an archives law, the government can indiscriminately destroy its old documents
Sarah Choy, archivist

But the government's handling of public documents can be cavalier. Officials admitted in 2010 that the offices of the chief executive, chief secretary and financial secretary had not been transferring their records to the GRS since 1997.

The 2011 Audit Commission report noted that public records are often poorly stored and improperly managed. It found four departments which failed to observe guidelines that required them to report the loss or destruction of data to the GRS.

The government's Code on Access to Information is not legally binding, which means civil servants and public organisations often refuse requests for information on the grounds of privacy.

Records from 1891. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

As former GRS veterans, Choy and Wan know how public officials give short shrift to citizens' calls for transparency and accountability.

"The government has withheld records from public view since the early 1990s. Without knowing what's there, the public can't apply to view the records. I don't know any country that does not have an archives law. Without such a law, the government can indiscriminately destroy its old documents," Choy says.

As an example, she cites data obtained during census surveys. When the National Archives in Britain opened its census data from the previous century to public viewing several years ago, there was so much interest its computer servers crashed.

Hong Kong's census ordinance stipulates that all its files must be destroyed after use, but if an archive law were in place, Choy says, they could override that. "Census data is valuable information that shows a society's development, and the genealogy of the populace."

Retired GRS director Simon Chu. Photo: Dickson Lee

Retired GRS director Simon Chu Fook-keung says the government's lack of succession planning has left the GRS in disarray following the departure of its only two certified archivists.

He had recruited Choy and Wan to the service, but the pair eventually left because they were bitterly disappointed at the government's disregard for archives, Chu says, citing how, on its relocation out of Central, the Public Records Office was placed next to a warehouse for hazardous goods in Tuen Mun.

"Even the current director of GRS, Stanley To, is not an archivist. Under existing requirements, directorate-level civil servants must hand over old documents to the GRS director for appraisal before disposing of them. But [if] the director himself does not have training in archival science, how can he make the judgment about what to preserve?"

A GRS spokesman says there are 17 archivist-grade officers currently in the service.

"The entry requirements for archivist-grade [officers] are possession of a bachelor's degree in history, political science, public administration, or a [relevant] subject from a Hong Kong university ... and two years' postgraduate research or training in history, political science, public administration or a [relevant] subject.

"Six out of the 17 archivist-grade officers have a postgraduate diploma in archives administration or the equivalent, issued by an approved institution."

But Chu, who co-founded the Archives Action Group with several academics, retired judges and archivists to push for an archives law, argues that such credentials do not make for a professional archivist.

In the past, officers joining the GRS were given in-house training during their two-year probation. Following probation, the officer can apply for recognition by the US Academy of Certified Archivists. "They only become professional archivists after obtaining certification."

There are two ways to qualify for accreditation by the academy, Choy explains. Candidates with a master's in archival science need to get one year of relevant work experience. Those with master's in other subjects like history and political science must get two years of relevant job experience.

"To get the accreditation, they can either pass an exam or show the academy that they have acquired relevant training," says Choy.

Documents stored at the government archive in Admiralty.

But even qualified archivists have to renew their certification every five years to keep abreast of new knowledge in archival science, she adds.

Despite having left the GRS in disillusionment, Choy appreciates having had the chance to delve into different areas during her long stint there.

"When the government was finally willing to fund a building for its archives in 1994, I worked with my boss and the architect to look for information on how to build such a structure. I learned a lot of new things, like how to choose bricks and how to build a bug-resistant chamber," she says.

In the past, she thought working with archives was a just matter of systematic filing, "but there are many things to do once an archive is created," Choy explains.

"I've developed particular interest in the legal aspects; the opening of archives for public use comes with legal constraints.

"Under what circumstances can [the material] be made available to the public? Is there personal data involved? Is there a confidentiality agreement between the archive keepers and the one who provided the [documents]."

Choy also points to film clips of cross-harbour swims and other community events from the 1960s and '70s that they persuaded the government to hand over to the GRS.

"Can such footage be played by TV stations for commercial use? Can such footage be copied for use by researchers? The legal aspects of archival science can help answer all these questions."

For Wan, who holds a master's degree in history from Chinese University, the most interesting aspect of his archival work is the research.

"In the two decades I worked for the government, I have been assigned to different government departments to oversee the creation of archives. I can see the history and development of various government departments."

Wan recalls how Lands Department staff pointed him to drafts for crown leases of land in the New Territories that they had discovered at the bottom of old drawers.

"They were all hand-drawn. I'd read in history books that the colonial government brought in a large group of surveyors from India to conduct land measurements for tax collection after the New Territories was ceded to the British in 1898.

"But it was the first time I was able to actually see and thumb through the real documents," Wan says. "I got quite excited."

The recent opening of the archives at Legco for public viewing has shed light on this rare profession, which the public hardly knows about but serves an important duty in preserving the city's history and memory.

The biggest privilege of being an archivist, Choy and Wan say, is that they can view documents that provide answers to some of the city's greatest mysteries, one of which is the cause of death of Bruce Lee Siu-lung.

"The Coroner's Court regulations state that only people with legitimate reasons, like the next of kin, can see the inquest report. But as the people handling the archives, we know. But, of course, we cannot say anything about it," Choy says.

 

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Posterity measures
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