Raising civil servants’ awareness of the need to safeguard national security is the main focus of Hong Kong’s new training school dedicated to government workers, its inaugural head has said, stressing that anyone who fails their assessment “must face the consequence”.

At Thursday’s groundbreaking ceremony of the Civil Service College, Oscar Kwok Yam-shu, who was deputy commissioner of police before he retired in April, also said he might consider adopting a police-style training if it could steer the civic service to become a “highly efficient” team.

“The mentality is of the utmost importance. On top of the understanding and recognition of national security, civil servants should also develop an awareness of safeguarding national security - this is what we will attach great importance to,” Kwok told the press.