Govt Names New Privacy Chief

A career civil servant was named by the government on Friday as the new privacy commissioner, replacing Stephen Wong whose term of office ends next month.

Ada Chung, 61, is currently head of the Companies Registry. She joined the government in 1981 and served various posts at the Department of Justice, before she was appointed Registrar of Companies in 2007.

Her tenure will begin on September 4.

Wong's five-year term has been marred by controversies such as doxxing and an exodus of staff at the privacy watchdog.

Doxxing, or the disclosure of personal information online without permission, was prevalent at the height of the anti-government protests last year, undermining the privacy of police as well as both pro-government and pro-democracy figures.

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data also had to deal with complaints relating to police officers displaying the ID cards of journalists in front of a live-streaming camera.

And the office suffered from an exodus of staff since Wong took over in 2015, with almost half of its 70 employees quitting in the three years since.

But Wong was reported as saying the high turnover did not have anything to do with his management.

In making the appointment, the government praised Chung's legal expertise and administrative experience, as well as leadership skills.