At the meeting on 10 July, I briefed the Panel on Public Service of the Legislative Council on the Government’s policies and systems concerning requirements for civil servants such as those regarding their political neutrality. I also reported the progress of the study on the requirement of oath-taking by civil servants and proposed the way forward for implementation. I hope our colleagues will understand the objectives and the details of our proposal.
The civil service is the backbone of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR Government). It is responsible to the Chief Executive. It supports the Chief Executive and the Government of the day in formulating, explaining and implementing policies; conducting administrative affairs; delivering public services; and undertaking law enforcement and regulatory functions. Public servants must be dedicated to their duties and be responsible to the HKSAR Government. Civil servants, being a key component of the public service, have the constitutional role to give their best in serving the Chief Executive and the Government of the day.
It has consistently been the duty of civil servants to uphold the Basic Law and be allegiant to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China (HKSAR) and the HKSAR Government under the framework of the Basic Law and the Civil Service Code. In order to enable civil servants to have clearer awareness of the responsibilities and requirements entailed by their official positions, we propose to introduce a requirement on civil servants to take an oath or sign a declaration to uphold the Basic Law and pledge allegiance to the HKSAR and the HKSAR Government. This can genuinely manifest the aforesaid responsibilities of civil servants, thereby further safeguarding and promoting the core values that must be upheld by civil servants, and ensuring in turn the effective governance of the HKSAR Government.
Based on the principles set out above, we put forward the following proposal concerning oath-taking by civil servants:
Besides, you would have noticed that the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPCSC) had passed “The Law of the People’s Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region” (the National Security Law) on 30 June 2020, and listed the legislation in Annex III to the Basic Law according to Article 18 of the Basic Law. The National Security Law took effect upon gazettal at 11 p.m. on 30 June. Article 6 of the National Security Law stipulates that “[a] resident of the [HKSAR] who stands for election or assumes public office shall confirm in writing or take an oath to uphold the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China and swear allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China in accordance with the law”. Our proposal on oath-taking/signing of declaration by civil servants accords with the relevant provisions of the National Security Law.
I understand that colleagues may have concerns on issues such as the content of the oath / declaration, the consequences for non-compliance with the requirement, when the requirement will be extended to all civil servants, etc. In considering and implementing the above proposal, we will prudently and thoroughly consider the relevant issues, including the appropriate follow-up action and relevant mechanism to handle cases of non-compliance with the requirement or cases involving breach of the oath/declaration by civil servants. However, I wish to emphasise again that the most important foundation for our current proposal is that it has consistently been the duty of civil servants to uphold the Basic Law and be allegiant to the HKSAR. This is also what the public expects of civil servants all along.
We are consulting the major civil service unions on the above proposal concerning serving civil servants according to the established mechanism. We welcome views and suggestions from staff on the above proposal concerning oath-taking/signing of declaration by serving civil servants. I also encourage you to give your feedback through your Head of Department/Grade, so that we may learn more about your views. Taking into account the feedback received, we will decide on the way forward and work out the implementation details.
