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Friday, May 09, 2025
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Over 3,700 civil servants leave government as number triples in five years
Over 3,700 civil servants left the SAR government in 2021, marking an almost three-fold jump from some 1,300 in 2017 and recording a new high since Hong Kong’s handover.
The figures were released by the Civil Service Bureau when answering lawmakers’ questions.
A total of 3,734 civil servants quit in the year 2021/22, up from 1,333 in 2017/18, as the turnover rate rose from 0.8 percent to 2.1 percent in five years.
The age group 25 to 30 saw the most exiting civil servants, at 800.
Reasons for leaving the government included health conditions, family issues, studying, and finding a new job.
Data also revealed that 89 civil servants were arrested over the social unrest in 2019. Five of them were recently convicted in court and authorities will take disciplinary actions against them.
Twenty-six saw the charges against them dropped or walked free after a trial, but they will still face an internal inquiry.
The number of civil servants who had worked for over ten years but left before the official retirement age also reached 1,345 in 2021/22, up from 331 in 2017/18 – indicating a four-fold jump.
From 2019/20 to 2021/22, 542 civil servants were disciplined for serious misconduct or criminal offenses. The police force saw the greatest number of officers suspended from duty at 16 in the year 2021/22.
The Civil Service College, founded in 2021, is expected to spend about HK$27.3 million for training courses on national affairs in the year 2023/24, jumping almost 24 times from HK$1.1 million in the year 2020/21.
The bureau said that the training guidelines were renewed last July, and applicants must complete courses on the constitution, the Basic Law, and the National Security Law, or they won’t secure long-term employment.
Holders of university degrees or relevant professional certificates must also enroll in advanced-level training courses to strengthen their self-awareness in safeguarding national security. Otherwise, their chances of a promotion would be affected, the bureau said.
A total of 3,734 civil servants quit in the year 2021/22, up from 1,333 in 2017/18, as the turnover rate rose from 0.8 percent to 2.1 percent in five years.
The age group 25 to 30 saw the most exiting civil servants, at 800.
Reasons for leaving the government included health conditions, family issues, studying, and finding a new job.
Data also revealed that 89 civil servants were arrested over the social unrest in 2019. Five of them were recently convicted in court and authorities will take disciplinary actions against them.
Twenty-six saw the charges against them dropped or walked free after a trial, but they will still face an internal inquiry.
The number of civil servants who had worked for over ten years but left before the official retirement age also reached 1,345 in 2021/22, up from 331 in 2017/18 – indicating a four-fold jump.
From 2019/20 to 2021/22, 542 civil servants were disciplined for serious misconduct or criminal offenses. The police force saw the greatest number of officers suspended from duty at 16 in the year 2021/22.
The Civil Service College, founded in 2021, is expected to spend about HK$27.3 million for training courses on national affairs in the year 2023/24, jumping almost 24 times from HK$1.1 million in the year 2020/21.
The bureau said that the training guidelines were renewed last July, and applicants must complete courses on the constitution, the Basic Law, and the National Security Law, or they won’t secure long-term employment.
Holders of university degrees or relevant professional certificates must also enroll in advanced-level training courses to strengthen their self-awareness in safeguarding national security. Otherwise, their chances of a promotion would be affected, the bureau said.
