Senior Hong Kong public officers should keep in mind the country’s interests when performing their duties, civil service chief says
- Patrick Nip says the implementation of ‘one country, two systems’ can only be improved by looking at things from both a national and city perspective
- But it does not mean that officers will have to observe the mainland’s civil service rules, he adds
Senior government staff in Hong Kong must consider the national context when executing policies in the city, the civil service chief said on Wednesday as he sought to clarify his earlier remarks on the role of the workforce.
Patrick Nip Tak-kuen, the minister in charge of the 180,000 public sector workers in Hong Kong, said the implementation of “one country, two systems” could only be improved by looking at things from both a national and city perspective.
Nip was speaking to legislators to explain earlier comments in which he said Hong Kong’s civil servants played a dual role, serving both city and country.
He told the legislature: “The full name of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China. And civil servants of [Hong Kong] means the same as civil servants of the government of the [HKSAR] of the People’s Republic of China.”
He also cited remarks made by President Xi Jinping in 2017 that Hong Kong had been reintegrated into China’s national governance system since the city’s handover from British to Chinese rule.
But he said that Xi’s comments did not mean Hong Kong’s officers would also have to observe the mainland’s civil service rules, which requires them to support the party and the thoughts and theories of its most senior leaders.
Nip, who was made the secretary for the civil service in April, raised eyebrows earlier this month by calling on all Hong Kong’s civil servants to understand that they served both the city and the country in supporting and executing policies laid down by the chief executive.
There is no political neutrality, especially for senior civil servants
At Wednesday’s Legco meeting, Nip said: “Most frontline civil servants should not feel any impact [of the dual role] … because they deal with day-to-day services for Hong Kong people.”
“But for middle-or-higher-level [officials] or political appointees, the policies we make may be related to the country. We cannot only see it from the perspective of Hong Kong, without considering the perspectives of the country.”
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Helena Wong Pik-wan, of the opposition Democratic Party, accused Nip of destroying the city’s established civil service system. “When there are conflicts between the two roles of serving Hong Kong and serving the central government, what should civil servants do?” she asked.
But Nip said: “Under ‘one country two systems’ principle, when considering and handling policy matters and issues, civil servants of [the Hong Kong] government should not confine themselves only to the perspective of the [SAR].
“They should deliver their work in accordance with the Basic Law, the laws and systems of Hong Kong. But at the same time they should also take into consideration the perspective that Hong Kong is part of the country, so as to enable the discharge of their duties in a comprehensive and thorough manner.”
New People’s Party chairwoman Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee agreed with Nip’s explanations, saying Hong Kong civil servants should always have the mainland in mind.
“There is no political neutrality, especially for senior civil servants,” Ip said, adding public sector workers should never go against the government’s policies or the Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution.
Ip also said all civil servants should take an oath declaring their allegiance to the city, similar to the one lawmakers are required to take.
Hong Kong’s civil service chief raises eyebrows by telling staff they serve both the city and China
Asked if Nip’s statement would affect Hong Kong civil servants in their day-to-day operations, Ip said they would still be managed by the existing system in Hong Kong.
A directorate-grade civil servant said on condition of anonymity what Nip asked for had already been happening. “It has been a mandatory requirement to include a paragraph of impact assessment on the mainland in all important policy papers,” he said.
“But the real problem is how much weight you put on that,” he said. “You can only guess, and certainly this should be the duty of the political appointees, not us.”
He said policies in all sectors – from immigration and education to health and finance, or airport development – would be affected by the decision.
