Civil Servants Must Be Loyal To CE: Patrick Nip

The new civil service chief Patrick Nip has issued written reminders to government staff to be loyal to the Carrie Lam administration and to avoid getting involved in anything that could disrupt the peace or affect government operations.

Nip, formerly the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs before he was moved to head the 180,000-strong civil service last month, aired his concerns about the return of anti-government protests recently after a months-long lull.

In an email to government staff, he says violent acts have been destructive to the long-term development of Hong Kong, and while it's understandable for people to have different views on the government, any illegal acts will be strictly dealt with by the police.

He stressed that civil servants are obliged to uphold the Basic Law and be loyal to the Hong Kong SAR under the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ principle.

Nip said civil servants must be law-abiding and politically neutral, and remain completely loyal to the Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, and her administration.

He warned them not to participate or support any actions that may disrupt the peace, or the operations of the government, noting that 43 civil servants have so far been charged or investigated by police for allegedly taking part in illegal public activities.