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The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government on Friday strongly condemned a labor union planning to stage a political strike in protest at the national security legislation for Hong Kong.
The move will undermine the interests of the whole community of Hong Kong and tarnish the reputation of the civil service, the government spokesperson said in a statement.
While Hong Kong struggles to recover from months of violent incidents last year and the COVID-19 epidemic, inciting civil servants to participate in a so-called "referendum on strike" will affect the effective government operation and undermine Hong Kong's economy and the interests of Hong Kong people, the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson urged civil servants not to participate in the referendum and said the government will not turn a blind eye to any such action.
The Basic Law and Hong Kong's legal system do not provide any "referendum" mechanism and conducting any form of "referendum" will have no constitutional basis or legal effect, the spokesperson said.
Article 99 of the Basic Law stipulates that public servants must be dedicated to their duties and be responsible to the HKSAR government. Civil servants, being a key component of the public service, have a constitutional role, the spokesperson said. "For civil servants who blatantly violate the Civil Service Code, we will follow up seriously."
National security is a matter under the purview of the central authorities and Hong Kong, as an inalienable part of China, comes directly under the central government and enjoys a high degree of autonomy, the spokesperson said.
Safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests is the constitutional requirement of the HKSAR, is the duty of the HKSAR government, and is also in the interest of all Hong Kong residents, the spokesperson said.
The constitutionality, lawfulness and reasonableness of formulating at the national level the legal system for national security for the HKSAR is beyond doubt, the spokesperson said.
The national security legislation only targets a very small minority of people involved in serious crimes endangering national security, the spokesperson said.
The legislation will not affect the legitimate rights and freedoms enjoyed by the vast majority of Hong Kong residents including civil servants, and instead will better maintain safety and stability in society, ensure that Hong Kong can become a safer and more stable city, and keep a favorable environment for business and investment, the spokesperson said.
The HKSAR government will fully cooperate with the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress to complete the legislation as soon as possible to discharge its responsibility of safeguarding national security, the spokesperson said.
Civil servants, as the backbone of the HKSAR government, should stand united and be dedicated to their duties, the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson urged them to firmly support and fully cooperate with the government under the leadership of the Chief Executive to accomplish the tasks of safeguarding national security to ensure the robustness of "one country, two systems."