An organisation representing senior Hong Kong Public Servants is under Government pressure to agree that its retired members should be docked their pensions if they violate the Beijing-imposed National Security Law.
Chair of the Hong Kong Senior Government Officers Association, Lee Fong-chung said there should be a discussion on whether the declaration that retired Public Servants sign every year to maintain their pensions should be linked to the Security Law.
Mr Lee said he agreed with the suggestion that the Government should stop paying a pension if a retired Public Servant was convicted of a serious crime “to ensure retired Civil Servants stay loyal to the Government”.
This followed an earlier statement from former Chair of the Hong Kong Chinese Civil Servants’ Association, Peter Wong Hyo who called for the Government to amend the declaration to require retired Public Servants not to violate the Security Law.
Mr Lee said Mr Wong’s message was correct.
“The declaration has not been updated in a long time, but there should still be a discussion on whether the declaration should be specifically linked to the National Security Law,” the Chair said.
Mr Lee said he didn’t believe such an amendment would undermine freedom of speech “as Hongkongers still enjoy freedom of speech under the National Security Law”.
Lawmaker, Steven Ho Chun-yin (pictured) praised the move.
“Retired Civil Servants could incite other Government employees and so they must be regulated,” Mr Ho said.
“Criticising the Government would not be a problem. The point is they cannot violate the National Security Law, such as by calling for sanctions against China or supporting local terrorism,” he said.
Hong Kong, 1 July 2021
