Hongkong Post fails to get Audit Commission stamp of approval on safeguarding national security

Public spending watchdog criticises postal service for not including safeguarding national security clauses in contracts for stamp designs

Health authorities and Hong Kong Academy for Gifted Children also singled out for failure to include contract clauses drawn up to safeguard national security

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Hongkong Post has been criticised by the Audit Commission for failing to include national security clauses in contracts. Photo: Jelly Tse

Published: 8:33pm, 24 Apr 2024Updated: 10:26pm, 24 Apr 2024

Hong Kong’s Audit Commission has criticised three publicly funded institutions for a failure to include national security clauses in their agreements, including Hongkong Post, which was singled out for not adding suitable contract terms when it commissioned designers to create stamps.

The commission on Wednesday asked the postal service, health authorities and the Hong Kong Academy for Gifted Education to step up efforts to promote national security after its latest investigations into eight organisations.

But two lawmakers raised concerns over whether the watchdog should look at national security as well as the proper use of public funds.

Doreen Kong Yuk-foon said it was important to safeguard national security, but questioned whether specific clauses needed to be incorporated into service agreements when the 2020 Beijing-imposed legislation and the city’s Safeguarding National Security Ordinance applied to the whole of society.

“Our government is facing financial difficulty,” Kong said. “The most important task of the commission should be on whether any public money has been wasted and the expenses are value for money.”

The postal service, which has incurred major losses in seven of the last 10 years, has been urged by the Audit Commission to get back to profitability. Photo: Jelly Tse

Tik Chi-yuen, a fellow legislator, added the commission could give recommendations on measures related to safeguarding national security, but emphasised it should not be a major focus of the watchdog’s duties.