The SCMP reports
- Staff will also be required to learn more about innovation and technology, civil service chief Patrick Nip tells lawmakers
- Some legislators say measures do not go far enough, urge Nip to consider checking whether senior civil servants hold foreign nationality, overseas assets or BN(O) passport
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Hong Kong civil servants will need to take specific courses on China’s constitution and the city’s national security law during their three-year probation or before gaining promotion, to boost their sense of national identity.
Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip Tak-kuen also told a Legislative Council meeting on Wednesday that with the government having established a college in December last year, staff would be required to learn more about innovation and technology.
By mid-2020, the government employed about 177,000 civil servants. The 33,000-strong police force was the largest department.
Some pro-Beijing legislators said the measures did not go far enough and urged Nip to consider checking whether senior civil servants had foreign nationality or assets or held a British National (Overseas) passport.
The civil service chief gave a lukewarm response and said that was not required under the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s mini-constitution.
“When senior civil servants go abroad for work or exchange, they know they are representing Hong Kong. We need to let society discuss whether we need to impose restrictions on nationality when we hire new employees,” Nip said.
