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Hong Kong politics
Hong KongPolitics

Exclusive | Political neutrality does not mean supporting neither side, Hong Kong minister says

  • Public servants have to set aside their personal beliefs or political inclinations while performing their duties, Patrick Nip says
  • He also offers reassurances that civil servants who hold foreign nationality can serve in the government

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Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip at the Post’s office in Causeway Bay. on Tuesday. Photo: May Tse
Lilian Cheng

All civil servants must pick a side and support Hong Kong’s leader, the top official in charge of the government workforce has made clear, and those holding foreign passports can continue to serve without fear or favour as long as they toe the official line.

In a wide-ranging interview with the Post on Tuesday, Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip Tak-kuen spelled it out that public servants would have to set aside their personal beliefs or political inclinations, and the tradition of political neutrality did not mean “supporting neither side”. 

He was expanding on Beijing’s bottom line that only “patriots” would be allowed to run Hong Kong from now on following the political turmoil and anti-government protests of 2019 during which civil servants became caught up in activism and street demonstrations. 

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Civil service secretary Patrick Nip says ‘patriots’ needed within Hong Kong's government bureaucracy

Civil service secretary Patrick Nip says ‘patriots’ needed within Hong Kong's government bureaucracy
The government workforce was first required to sign a new oath of office last October to uphold the city’s mini-constitution, the Basic Law, and bear allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. 
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In early March, the pro-establishment camp, including Hong Kong deputy to China’s top legislature Maggie Chan Man-ki, further suggested to the central government that senior civil servants and heads of key statutory bodies should be banned from holding the right of abode overseas.

Addressing the matter clearly for the first time, Nip said: “There are people who hold foreign nationality or foreign passports, but so long as they are permanent residents [of Hong Kong], they are eligible for serving in the government as civil servants.

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“The Basic Law provides for those who hold foreign nationality to remain and serve in the government. Everything will just work in accordance with the Basic Law and the laws of Hong Kong.”
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