HONG KONG
Hong Kong Public Servants representing more than 40 Bureaus and Departments have issued an open letter to the Government, threatening industrial action if the administration continues to ignore the demands of protesters.
The open letter, addressed to Chief Executive, Carrie Lam Cheng Yyuet-ngor as well as other lawmakers, was accompanied by a photograph of multiple Public Service staff cards, but with the identities covered up.
The PS employees who signed the letter also included clerical staff working for the police.
The letter said that, as members of the Public Service, they had been working hard to provide quality services and remained neutral and supported the Government.
However, they said events in the past two months showed the Government had refused to listen to the public and act, violating its position of serving the citizens.
They also criticised the delayed response of police to the recent Yuen Long attacks, when men armed with clubs and other weapons and dressed in white T-shirts attacked passengers and journalists in a subway station.
“When the majority in the society disagrees with the policy made by our Government, being Civil Servants, we should respond to the public’s demands reasonably,” the letter said.
It called on the Government to respond to the major demands of the protesters — to withdraw the now-suspended Extradition Bill completely; investigate the police’s decision to fire weapons at protesters; stop all prosecutions against protesters; and retract the classification of “rioting” of the 12 June clashes between protesters and police outside the Legislative Council building.
The letter said PS employees would organise concrete industrial action if the Government continued to ignore public opinion.
A staff member at the Bureau of Innovation and Technology, who signed the letter and gave his surname as Chan, said possible action included working to rule or a strike.
Hong Kong, 25 July 2019
