"People's Daily Overseas Edition" (Version 04 on January 15, 2021)
According to the Xinhua News Agency Hong Kong News Agency (Reporters Zhou Wenqi and Ding Ziyi), in response to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government’s requirement for serving civil servants to swear or sign a declaration to support the Basic Law and allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, all sectors of the Hong Kong community expressed their support and believed that they would support the Basic Law, be loyal to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and be responsible to the Special Administrative Region Government. It is the political ethics that civil servants should abide by, which can be clarified through oaths or signed declarations, which will help to further regulate the behavior of civil servants.
In order to strengthen civil servants’ awareness of their public status expectations and responsibilities, the Civil Service Bureau of the Special Administrative Region Government has decided to require all serving civil servants to take an oath or sign a declaration, and will explain the arrangements for signing the declaration to the serving civil servants in the January notice.
Lu Wenduan, chairman of the Hong Kong Association of the China Association for the Promotion of Peaceful Reunification, said that the civil service team of the SAR government is the concrete operator to implement "one country, two systems" and maintain the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong. Supporting the Basic Law, loyalty to the Hong Kong SAR and being accountable to the SAR government are their most basic performances. Job conditions.
"Through the oath or signing of the declaration, it will help to ensure that there will be no principled problems in governance and maintain Hong Kong's prosperity, stability and long-term stability."
Lawyer Huang Yinghao, deputy secretary-general of the "Hong Kong Restart Alliance", said that according to the Hong Kong National Security Law, residents of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region should sign documents to confirm or swear to uphold the Basic Law and allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region when taking office.
This requirement is complementary to the spirit of Article 99 and Article 104 of the Hong Kong Basic Law.
It can be seen that the swearing or signing of declarations by civil servants is a legal responsibility and cannot be evaded.
Hong Kong practising barrister Wu Yingpeng said that the "revision storm" that began in 2019 has caused damage to Hong Kong's social order and national security. In the process, individual public officials participated in illegal activities.
Therefore, it is necessary to take targeted measures to ensure that civil servants are loyal to the SAR and uphold the Basic Law, so as to ensure the effective operation of the SAR government and maintain national security.
Some opponents falsely claim that the oath is to imprison the minds of civil servants and stifle freedom of speech. Interviewees strongly disagree.
They stated that the relevant requirements are political ethics and legal responsibilities that civil servants must abide by, and have nothing to do with freedom of speech.
Fu Jianci, vice chairman of the Hong Kong Law Exchange Foundation, said that civil servants belong to a special profession closely related to public interests. Taking an oath is not only the legal responsibility of civil servants, but also an important political ethic.
Looking at the world, many countries have institutional arrangements for public servants’ oaths.
If you are unwilling to abide by such basic political ethics, it will be difficult to become a qualified civil servant.
Legislative Council member Liang Meifen said that many countries such as Germany and Japan have relevant regulations and requirements for public servants to take oaths. It can be seen that it is an international practice for public officials to take oaths to show that they are responsible to the country and society, and civil servants of the Hong Kong SAR government should not be exceptions.
As long as you serve as a civil servant of the SAR government, you must uphold the Basic Law and be loyal to the Hong Kong SAR.
Lu Wenduan said that a small number of people oppose the swearing of civil servants under the banner of freedom of speech. The purpose is to make it easier for people to organize and participate in various anti-government activities in the name of civil servants in the future.
Their so-called freedom of speech violates political ethics and legal requirements, and the general public will not accept or recognize it.
According to the SAR government, more than 3,000 civil servants have completed the procedures for taking oaths or signing declarations.
Many interviewees affirmed this and believed that this was an important step for Hong Kong society to restore its roots.
Wu Yingpeng said that thousands of civil servants completed oaths or signed declarations, reflecting the effective implementation of Article 6 of the Hong Kong National Security Law in the SAR, and also reflecting the full respect of the legal spirit embodied in Article 99 and Article 104 of the Hong Kong Basic Law.
This is an important step in Hong Kong's society.
Fu Jianci said that the series of measures taken by the SAR government show that the work of clarifying the political responsibilities of the civil service team and regulating the behavior of civil servants is proceeding in an orderly manner. He hopes that progress can be accelerated in the future to ensure that the behavior of civil servants meets the requirements of the Basic Law and the expectations of the general public.
Regarding how to better ensure that civil servants abide by their oaths and perform their duties faithfully in the future, Zhou Wengang, secretary general of the Hong Kong Higher Education Council, pointed out that the oath of public servants is not only a form, but also has legal effect, including the relevant departments of the Civil Service Bureau. , It is necessary to constantly review the performance of public servants' oaths and the implementation of relevant civil servant regulations, so that the effect of the oath can be demonstrated.
Huang Yinghao emphasized that the SAR government should formulate plans and make arrangements as soon as possible after completing the oath or signing of public servants’ declarations, and provide all civil servants with education and training on the Constitution, the Basic Law, and Hong Kong’s National Security Law to ensure that civil servants better support the Basic Law and are loyal to Hong Kong. Special Economic Zone, to promote the steady and far-reaching practice of "One Country, Two Systems" in Hong Kong.