Announcement of ‘Revised Civil Service Rules’… Collect opinions for about a month
As many as 180,000 Hong Kong civil servants will face disciplinary action if they publicly criticize government policies.
According to the Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) on the 14th, the Hong Kong government announced the ‘Civil Service Rules Amendment’ containing the same contents the day before.
The amendment announced that the basic beliefs (values) that Hong Kong civil servants must adhere to are increased from 6 to 12.
In the ‘Maintaining political neutrality’ section, the amendment included the clause that public officials should not refuse or delay implementation of government policies due to personal views.
This amendment is scheduled to take effect after opinions are collected until January 19th of next year.
“Civil servants should not engage in activities that criticize or oppose government policies,” said Hong Kong Civil Service Director Ingrid Yung. “As individuals, they have the freedom to express their views, but they must be careful to ensure that these views are not mistaken for the government’s official position.” He said.
Director Yung argued, “Most public officials have done well so far, so it will not be difficult to follow the (new) rules.”
Regarding the possibility of authorities investigating public officials’ personal social media or e-mails, he mentioned, “We will not preemptively ask public officials to submit their personal conversations.”
He continued, “However, if we discover that a public official’s words or actions in a private space are against the rules, we will take disciplinary action.”
Director Yung warned, “The higher your rank, the more guarded you must be and the more careful you must be when expressing your personal views.”
Previously, the Hong Kong government expanded the loyalty oath target to all public servants at the end of 2020. The obligation to pledge loyalty, which was limited to high-ranking government officials, the judiciary, and members of the Hong Kong Legislative Assembly, was expanded to all civil servants.
As of June last year, most of the 180,000 employees had pledged loyalty, and 129 people reportedly refused to pledge loyalty and were fired before August 2021.
Source: Donga
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