Overhaul of Hong Kong’s civil service code may lead to government workers deleting social media accounts, unionists say

A proposed amendment to the code of conduct for Hong Kong’s civil servants may lead to more government employees deleting their social media accounts to avoid running afoul of the rules, unionists and public-sector workers have warned.

Under the revisions unveiled on Wednesday, civil servants would face disciplinary action if they openly criticised government policy in an official capacity or even while speaking as ordinary residents in some circumstances, according to the Civil Service Bureau. But the new code also stipulated that staff express different views in internal discussions to ensure they were comprehensive.

“There were colleagues who deleted their Facebook pages after the political storm in 2019, [and] of course they did this to protect themselves,” said Hong Kong Federation of Civil Service Unions CEO Leung Chau-ting. “I can’t rule out that there will be more people deleting their social media page after this change.”

A government source told the Post the workers would be deemed in violation of the code if they expressed anti-government views on social media or attended protests targeting authorities, even if they included disclaimers they were acting as ordinary residents.

Leung said the change served as a reminder to the city’s 180,000 civil servants, as authorities had clearly spelled out what types of behaviours would be allowed. But he argued it was difficult to separate one’s personal and official capacities, as the public would identify a civil servant as a government worker if they knew the person was one.

“In this situation, they are reminding civil servant colleagues to best be careful when you say things,” he said.