Hong Kong civil servants sharing opinions on government policies privately do not have ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ card, official says
- Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung says government workers will be held accountable for leaked private comments, urging caution in personal lives and online
- Government has proposed changes to code of conduct, with workers to be disciplined for public criticism in official capacity or remarks as ordinary residents in some cases
Civil servants should not mistake sharing their opinions privately on government policies for a “get-out-of-jail-free” card, a Hong Kong official has said, adding that speaking with prudence has always been “a virtue of Chinese people”.
Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung Ho Poi-yan on Saturday said government workers must speak with caution in their personal lives and online, as members of the public could link their comments to their official roles.
“Everyone should be careful about the consequences of what they say, and how it spreads,” she told a radio show. “It is not right to say that if someone speaks in their private capacity, they will have a ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ card.
“When our colleagues express their opinions, they have to be careful about the occasion and who they are speaking to. If what they share within a private circle is leaked, they will be held accountable.”
Hong Kong civil servants ‘may delete social media accounts due to code overhaul’
Last week, the government revealed proposed changes to the code of conduct for civil servants.
Under the amendments, Hong Kong’s 180,000 civil servants will be disciplined if they criticise government policies or support “opposing views of other parties” in their official capacity.
A government source previously told the Post that civil servants would be considered to have violated the revised code if they expressed anti-government views on social media or joined protests targeting authorities, even if they stated that they were involved in a personal capacity.
They would also be obliged to uphold “political neutrality”, as one of 12 core values, and barred from selectively refusing to carry out policies or delaying their implementation because of personal beliefs.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, in his maiden policy address last year, requested the Civil Service Bureau to amend the regulations. The move was seen as an attempt to strengthen the administration’s hold on civil servants after some helped to organise protests or made statements criticising authorities during the social unrest in 2019.
Yeung said that the higher the rank of a civil servant, the more readily the public would link their personal comments to the official stance.
“Civil servants with higher ranks should be more cautious,” she said. “The room they have [for expressing opinions] may be smaller.”
Yeung noted that all ranks should be careful with their behaviour, whether in real life or online.
“I always say that speaking with prudence is a virtue of Chinese people,” she said. “Everyone has to speak with prudence.”
She clarified that civil servants were not banned from expressing views on government policies or services.
Proposed new rules bar Hong Kong’s civil servants from criticising policies
But they had a constitutional responsibility to safeguard national safety, Yeung said.
“Civil servants are not working ordinary jobs,” she said. “We are not simply employees. We are employed by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government, which is a part of the country.
“We have the responsibility to safeguard the constitutional order of Hong Kong and national security.”
Yeung added that all residents should have a sense of this responsibility, which was why the proposed changes to the code of conduct were “correct and necessary”.
The revised code also stipulates that government workers should “never, directly or indirectly, organise or participate in any activity” that impedes policy implementation.
Yeung said authorities had noted that some civil servants had obstructed policy delivery in the past.
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“Of course, if they are simply voicing comments on some government services, it will not be considered as an activity that impedes policy implementation,” she said.
“But we think civil servants, as part of the government team and residents that adhere to the rule of law, are unfit for some extreme behaviour.”
Responding to concerns from civil servant unions, Yeung said activities where government employees were advocating better pay, benefits, conditions of service and occupational safety would be acceptable, as long as they were not using “extreme methods” or “destroying social harmony”.
Some unionists and civil servants have suggested the proposed amendments may force more of their fellow workers to delete their social media accounts to avoid running afoul of the rules.
