Hong Kong civil servants must look at big picture and understand there is limit on their freedom of speech, says minister

Secretary for Civil Service Patrick Nip says government workers must not only consider issues from a ‘localist perspective’

Nip clarifies earlier comments he made regarding their need for civil servants to be loyal to city and China

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Hong Kong civil servants protesting in August last year against the government’s handling of the extradition bill. Photo: Felix Wong

Published: 12:27pm, 8 Jun 2020Updated: 11:29pm, 8 Jun 2020

Civil servants should be careful of what they say and avoid raising doubts over their ability to carry out their duties, Hong Kong’s minister in charge of the government workforce said, as he defended an earlier comment asking for their loyalty to both the city and Beijing.

Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip Tak-kuen appeared on RTHK’s morning radio programme on Monday to provide clarification for comments he made on Sunday, when he said the city’s 180,000 civil servants served both Hong Kong and the Chinese government, in line with the “one country, two systems” governing policy.

“While it is not wrong for us to carry out our duties as Hong Kong civil servants, we should not only consider issues from a ‘localist’ perspective,” Nip said. “Sometimes there is even a hostile attitude towards the mainland. Only when taking the big picture into perspective can we work one country, two systems to our advantage.”

Nip’s reminder to civil servants of their “dual identities” on Sunday was the first time in 23 years since the handover of the city from Britain to China that the government has specifically defined the role of its workers in this manner.

Civil service chief Patrick Nip appeared on a radio show on Monday and clarified earlier comments he made regarding the city’s government workers. Photo: Nora Tam

Leaders from two civil servants’ unions, both appearing on the same radio show before Nip, had asked for clarification on how they should balance their identities and whether they would be penalised for saying the wrong thing.