Hong Kong civil servants to take to the streets in extradition bill protest, piling pressure on embattled government
- Unprecedented rally scheduled for Friday in Central is expected to draw 2,000 people
- Organisers are pressing beleaguered chief executive to respond to protesters’ demands
Hong Kong’s civil servants, known for their unflappable professionalism and political neutrality, plan to take to the streets over the government’s now-abandoned extradition bill, piling pressure on the city’s embattled leader to address protesters’ demands.
The unprecedented rally, scheduled for Friday at Chater Garden in Central, is expected to draw 2,000 government workers and other demonstrators.
“We concur with the principle that political neutrality should be upheld by civil servants when performing duties, but it doesn’t mean that we are deprived of the right to make our voice heard on political issues or social injustice,” Michael Ngan Mo-chau, one of the rally organisers who works in the Labour Department, said on Friday.
“Because underneath our uniform, we are also citizens of Hong Kong.”
The rally was announced after a group of administrative officers – elite civil servants who form the backbone of the Hong Kong government – executive officers and government lawyers separately issued letters urging Lam to order an independent inquiry into the extradition saga and the civil unrest it triggered.