Information Services Department


The Information Services Department is the Hong Kong Government's public relations office, publisher, advertiser, and news agency, serving as the link between the government and the media. It was also commonly called Government Information Services.

History

In September 1945, following the end of the Japanese occupation, the British Forces appointed a Press Relations Officer to communicate with remaining war correspondents. The unit was retitled as the Public Relations Office when the civilian administration resumed governance of Hong Kong in 1946. The PRO was renamed as the Information Services Department on 1 April 1959.
On 8 June 1963, ISD's headquarters moved from the fifth and sixth floors of the West Wing of the Central Government Offices to the top two floors of the new Beaconsfield House on Queen's Road Central.
In the 1970s, ISD launched new social development campaigns that are now ingrained in the collective memory of Hong Kong people. These included the Keep Hong Kong Clean Campaign, which was promoted using the iconic Lap Sap Chung litterbug character designed by ISD officer Arthur Hacker.
Following the 1995 sale of Beaconsfield House to a private developer, the Information Services Department relocated to the nearby Murray Building in 1996. Today, it is headquartered at the Harbour Building in Sheung Wan. It also once had offices in the Former French Mission Building.

Organisation

The department is organised into four divisions: