Hong Kong’s opposition-free legislature has passed a bill that gives government appointees a majority in the city’s social workers’ licensing body, a move that a top official said would help “protect the public’s interests and safeguard national security.”
Lawmakers in the “patriots-only” Legislative Council echoed their support for the bill in a meeting on Wednesday. They said the amendments to the Social Workers Registration Board, which is tasked with issuing qualifications for social workers, would help the body “get back onto the right track.”
Tik Chi-yuen, who represents the social welfare sector, said ahead of the vote that he would give Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun a “vote of approval,” adding that Sun had “worked hard” to balance different views on the bill’s amendments.
The passing of the amendments to the Social Worker Registration Ordinance came less than two months after Sun published a Facebook post criticising the Social Workers Registration Board. In the post, he said the board had not established a mechanism barring those convicted of national security offences from becoming registered social workers.
Under the amendment, the size of the board will be increased and the percentage of government-appointed members will rise from 40 per cent to more than 60 per cent. The change in make-up reduces the influence of members elected by their peers.
Those who have been convicted of national security offences will be banned from becoming social workers, and board members will also have to take an oath affirming that they would uphold the Basic Law and bear allegiance to Hong Kong.
After the government announced the proposals, seven social workers who were elected to the board quit, leaving only one elected member.
Speaking in the Legislative Council, Sun thanked lawmakers for their “valuable views.” He added that the current board had “significantly deviated from the spirit of the Social Worker Registration Ordinance.”
“So we believe there is an urgent need to improve the management of the board so the board can better protect the public’s interests, safeguard national security and promote the orderly development of the social work profession,” he said in Cantonese.
‘Political interference’
The city’s legislature has had no effective opposition since an electoral overhaul in 2021 significantly cut the number of elected seats and allowed only those deemed “patriotic” to run. Government proposals to the Legislative Council have received minimal pushback from lawmakers since the current legislative term began.
The amendment to the social work licensing body, however, saw rare, albeit small-scale, rebuke in Hong Kong. In May, two veterans held a petition urging Tik to speak to social workers to understand their views on the amendment, calling the proposals “political interference.”
Last week, a survey found that almost 90 per cent of Hong Kong’s social workers thought that changes to the licensing body would make it harder for them to speak out for marginalised communities. Almost 95 per cent said the amendments would affect social workers’ ability to safeguard human rights and justice.
Sun said in an interview with Now TV published on Wednesday morning that he would not comment on the survey, saying it was anonymous. He added that submissions sent to the legislative committee overseeing the amendments were all positive.
According to the Legislative Council website, pro-establishment groups such as Lok Sin Tong and the Hong Kong Social Workers Association were among those that sent in submissions.
Eddie Tse, a social work veteran who led the petition and the survey, told HKFP he was disappointed with Tik’s comments in the Legislative Council on Wednesday.
“He did not talk about any of the concerns. He did not mention the survey,” Tse said. “As the social welfare lawmaker, he did not perform the responsibility of consulting social workers and learning about their views.”
The social work veteran had earlier urged Tik to hold a public consultation with social workers to understand their worries about the amendments. His assistant told him they were “looking into” the possibility of holding a consultation, but no such plans materialised, Tse said.
The government will hold an oath-taking ceremony for new board members on Friday. Sun said in the Legislative Council that no by-election would be held to replace the seven board members who quit.
Help safeguard press freedom & keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team
