Hong Kong government warns employees to remain neutral or face consequences on eve of civil servant rally over extradition bill crisis
- Statement warns of action against civil servants for service code violation as about 2,000 employees plan to join rally in Central on Friday
- Police turn down applications for weekend marches in Mong Kok and Hong Kong Island West and allow assemblies instead
The Hong Kong government has fired a stern warning to civil servants on the eve of a planned rally over the extradition bill crisis, telling them to remain politically neutral and to have “total loyalty” to the city’s leader or risk consequences.
In a surprise move on Thursday, the administration issued a statement to make clear that it would seriously follow up on any violation.
This came a day before 2,000 civil servants are expected to show up for a rally over the now-shelved bill that would have allowed the transfer of criminal suspects to places with which the city does not have an extradition agreement, including mainland China.
Some civil servants are also expected to join a citywide strike on Monday, an action that has drawn support from those in sectors such as banking and the arts.
“Any acts to undermine the principle of political neutrality of the civil service are totally unacceptable to the government as this will damage the public’s confidence ... and give a wrong impression to the public that civil servants are unable to discharge their duties in an impartial manner,” the statement read.
It cited the Civil Service Code, mentioning that civil servants must be completely loyal to the chief executive and the administration, and do their utmost to carry out duties. It also said employees should not be affected by their personal political views at work.
