A Co-signed Open Letter from 500+ HKSAR Executive Officers
United by Love for Hong Kong
To all Hong Kong citizens, the media, the Chief Executive, all Members of the Executive Council, all politically appointed Principal Officials and the Commissioner of Police,
We are a group of Executive Officers united by our love for Hong Kong. We come from different Government bureaux and departments, serving at different positions with various lengths of service. Executive Officers are responsible for undertaking duties relating to human resources, financial resources and administration support of most of the departments, we may not be the core of the Administration but are definitely the essential components that ensure smooth operation of the Government and dedicated in serving the people of Hong Kong. We hereby express our anger and concerns over the recent incidents.
Since June, millions of members of the public have distinctly voiced out their concerns towards the extradition bill. They march on the streets, with some even risk their lives by escalating protest actions and initiating death remonstrations. Regrettably, the Chief Executive and her cabinet first disdained public opinion and bulldozed the bill through the Legislative Council, and later resorted to the sophistry of ‘suspension’ or ‘the bill is dead’, leaving Hong Kong in predicament in the end. At the night of 21st July, a huge group of white-shirted thugs brutally assaulted citizens indiscriminately in Yuen Long under the pretext of ‘safeguarding their families and clans’, the barbarous action was indeed aiming at creating panic in the community and silencing the public.
We express deep regret over the Chief Executive and responsible officials’ handling of the matter. Since taking office, the Chief Executive has all along been stressing the importance of ‘listening’ in her administration and has reiterated ‘communication’ in recent days. However, has it not been clear enough for the voice of tens of thousands of citizens that echoed unceasingly on the streets and on both traditional and new media in the last two months? The press conference held by the Chief Executive and Principal Officials including the Commissioner of Police at 3pm on 22nd July was also like a routine. Not mentioning the tardiness in responding to the issue, the performance of the Chief Executive and the Commissioner of Police in the press conference only convinced us that they were shirking their responsibilities, they even evaded reporters’ questions by giving absurd replies that left people speechless. We question if the Chief Executive and her senior officials prioritise the national emblem over the safety of the citizens.
