Documents submitted to Hong Kong’s Legislative Council show that more than 1,800 Public Servants resigned during the year ending April 2021 — around one per cent of the entire Government payroll.
A further 6,000 Public Servants announced their retirement during the same period, three per cent of the total payroll.
They included nearly 150 Department heads, around 10 per cent of the total at that pay grade, according to the documents.
The figures were made public after the Government said last month it was terminating the contracts of 129 Public Servants who hadn’t signed a written oath of allegiance to Hong Kong.
Secretary for the Public Service, Patrick Nip had previously said it was a “fundamental responsibility” of Government employees to bear allegiance to Hong Kong and its administration.
Officials have interpreted this as not making public criticisms of the Government and its policies.
Meanwhile, Chief Executive of Hong Kong, Carrie Lam has revealed plans to send Public Servants on work placements to mainland China, adding that mainland Chinese officials would be welcome to undertake placements in Hong Kong.
The exchanges are likely to take place between cities in the Greater Bay Area around the Pearl River delta, as part of a continuing attempt to integrate Hong Kong more closely with southern China.
Mr Nip said all Public Servants in Hong Kong would be expected to take training classes on mainland affairs in the future, and would have opportunities to have exchanges with positions in mainland administrative institutions and Departments.
The move was hailed by some mainland experts as a “very necessary move”.
In a later statement, Mr Nip played down the mass resignations saying there could be many reasons behind them, such as family, personal plans or health issues.
He said job stability and good pay still attracted candidates to the Public Service with authorities currently processing 14,000 new applications.
Hong Kong, 19 May 2021
