Hong Kong civil servants will not be held criminally liable just for refusing to pledge allegiance to city, Basic Law, minister says

But Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip stops short of completely eliminating the prospect of employees facing prosecution over the oath

All 180,000 civil servants will soon be required to sign a declaration pledging allegiance to the city and promising to uphold mini-constitution

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Civil servants will soon have to sign a pledge of allegiance. Photo: Nora Tam

Published: 9:43pm, 13 Dec 2020Updated: 11:27pm, 13 Dec 2020

Hong Kong’s civil service chief assured government workers on Sunday they would not automatically be held criminally liable for refusing to sign a declaration pledging allegiance to the city.

But Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip Tak-kuen stopped short of completely eliminating the prospect of employees facing prosecution over the oath, sparking demands from a civil service union leader for more clarity.

Under a new government policy, all 180,000 civil servants will soon be required to sign a declaration pledging allegiance to the city and promising to uphold the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s mini-constitution.

Those who joined the public sector after July 1 this year already had to sign a declaration form to pledge their allegiance.

Patrick Nip says violating the oath is not a criminal offence. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

Critics feared any breach of the declaration would amount to fraud or other offences under the national security law. But Nip brushed off such concerns on Sunday.

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