Political situation
Written by: Lin Jian
2021-01-18 10:41
Last update date: 2021-01-18 10:43
The government issued a notice a few days ago to require current civil servants to swear an oath, and sign a declaration of commitment to uphold the Basic Law and allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region within 4 weeks after receiving the letter. If they refuse to sign without a reasonable explanation, the employment suspension procedure will be initiated depending on the circumstances of the case.
Leung Choi-ting, director general of the Federation of Civil Service Unions, said that there is a lot of room for the government to interpret what is meant by a "violation statement." The current explanation is not clear enough. It is expected that the space for civil servants' speech and rights actions will be narrowed in the future.
Sworn declaration of civil servants
[Civil Servants’ Declaration of Oath Embodying Commitment] As the backbone of the SAR government, civil servants have the responsibility to uphold the Basic Law, implement "One Country, Two Systems", and do everything possible to assist the incumbent Chief Executive and the government; taking an oath or signing a declaration is a responsibility for the status of a civil servant And a real expression of expectations.
In order to let colleagues clearly understand the arrangements for the oath and signing of the declaration, I and Permanent Secretary Ingrid made a special short video to explain the relevant content and list examples of violations of the oath.
Let us all work together to implement "One Country, Two Systems" and serve the public.
#公务员宣#显承#同心同德#support basic law#implementation of one country two system#service people#聂德权#patricknip
Posted by Patrick Nip on Thursday, 14 January 2021
Liang Choi-ting pointed out that among the civil servants’ opinions received so far, only a small number of civil servants have indicated that they have refused to sign for another purpose. However, even civil servants who have not indicated that they have refused to sign have raised many questions, including whether the relevant clauses are "tied up" after signing. He can't answer the point, and it has to be handed over to the government.
He also mentioned that according to the notice of the Civil Service Bureau, when civil servants express their personal remarks in the future, "ignore whether the medium, channel, method, target, etc. of their expressions are appropriate, causing the public to associate the relevant remarks with the expresser’s civil servant status. Cause others to feel or suspect that they may be partial in the performance of their duties", etc., which also conflicts with the statement.
Objectively speaking, this will cause the other party's organization to be worried during interviews. If they accept interviews from some organizations deemed "anti-China", they will be recruited at any time. Therefore, Leung Choi-ting believes that the space for civil servants' speech has actually been narrowed.
Expected to be restricted
The circular also mentions that civil servants who "have acted to destabilize the governance and administration of the SAR government, or even use this to provoke social sentiments and oppose the incumbent government to cause or stimulate social unrest," are a violation of the oath.
Leung Choi-ting pointed out that what is meant by "aims to destabilize the governance and administration of the SAR government". The boundary is determined by the government. An official action to fight for rights and interests can be peaceful and legal, but in the end, other groups will subsequently launch fierce actions. Then the civil servants who originally held peaceful activities It is possible to "upper body".
He believes that in the future the work of labor unions to fight for rights and interests will be more restricted.
Chinese members will question that the bureau is too anxious to explain
Li Kuiyan, the president of the Chinese Employee Association, said that the bureau finally absorbed some of the suggestions put forward by the Chinese Employee Association, including writing clearly in the "Expression of Personal Opinions" and also doing FAQs. Unfortunately, the content is too brief, with only 6 questions. .
In addition, the bureau has still not responded to two issues, including the specific arrangements for refusal, whether it is an order to resign, early retirement or dismissal. There are differences between the several situations; if the government quotes the "Public Service (Management) Order" to initiate termination What criteria are used to consider the hiring process, and what will be different results?
Li Kuiyan believes that the bureau’s handling of the situation so far is still not sufficiently transparent. It feels that it is too eager to push new measures and eager to get things done. The union asked the bureau to hold a briefing to explain clearly, but the bureau also refused.
The bureau has not arranged a meeting with the union, and the union will continue to require the bureau to do a good job of explanation, so that civil servants can know how to measure the consequences and make appropriate judgments.
Zhang Jianzong said that civil servants swear to declare that it is not just a paper document to collectively demonstrate loyalty and commitment
Oath of civil servants｜The government stipulates that improper expression of personal remarks violates the oath
The new civil servants' union is dissolved before the oath is expected to be unable to stay in the government
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Civil Service Civil Service Bureau