This came after the top government official was questioned by lawmakers whether directorate civil servants should be allowed to have dual nationality when serving the SAR.

Lawmaker Kingsley Wong Kwok from the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions said during a Legco meeting today that simply requiring directorate civil servants to declare allegiance to the HKSAR may not be enough if they are of dual nationality.

He said taking the oath is not a solution for their situation of divided loyalties.

In response, Tsang said the democratic system of the HKSAR conforms to both the “One Country, Two Systems” principle and the constitutional status of Hong Kong, and that it is in the interest of Hong Kong residents’ democratic rights and Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability.

He noted that the government currently has no plans to make changes to the nationality rules for civil servants, and will continue to act in accordance with the Basic Law.

Meanwhile, Tsang said he believed the current requirement for all civil servants to take an oath or sign a declaration to uphold the Basic Law and pledge allegiance to the HKSAR has met the principle of “patriots administering Hong Kong”.