Civil Servants Urged to Register and Vote in Upcoming Hong Kong Legislative Council Election

2025-05-13 11:50 Last Updated At：12:48

Civil service unites in call for voter registration

The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, together with representatives from the four civil service central consultative councils, jointly visited several floors of the Queensway Government Offices today (May 13) to appeal to colleagues to actively register as voters and to cast their votes in the Legislative Council (LegCo) General Election to be held on December 7 this year to fulfil their civic responsibility.

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Civil service unites in call for voter registration Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

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Civil service unites in call for voter registration Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Acting Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Clement Woo, and the Permanent Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Clement Leung, were also present to appeal to colleagues to activelyregister as voters. They also distributed leaflets on voter registration and updates of particulars to visitors of the building to convey the message.

Mr Chan said, "As the backbone of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, civil servants bear the responsibility of implementing and supporting the administration in accordance with the law. Today, together with the representatives from the four civil service central consultative councils, I visited colleagues in different government departments to appeal to those who are eligible but have not yet registered as voters to activelydo so, and to remind those who have already registered as voters to check the accuracy of their registration details through the online system and submit an application to update their details in a timely manner if necessary, to ensure their voting rights are not affected. We also appeal to our colleagues to convey this message to their families and friends to get well prepared for the LegCo General Election to be held at the end of this year and to vote enthusiastically to fulfil their civic duties and elect patriotic, capable, and dedicated legislators devoted to serving the people, Hong Kong and our country."

The 2025 Voter Registration Campaign is under way. Eligible persons/bodies who have not yet registered as voters are advised to submit registration applications to the Registration and Electoral Office (REO) as early as possible on or before the statutory deadline of June 2. Registered voters who have any change in their residential address or other registration particulars should also submit applications for change of particulars to the REO on or before June 2. Both applications for new registration and change of particulars can be submitted through the "iAM Smart" app, or by email, mail or fax with the completed specified forms. For details, please visit the Voter Registration website (vr.gov.hk).

Court Dismisses Chow Hang Tung's Challenge to Hong Kong's Clothing Policy for Persons in Custody

HKSAR Government welcomes court's decision to dismiss Chow Hang Tung's application for judicial review on clothing policy for persons in custody

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government welcomes the judgment handed down by the Court of First Instance of the High Court today (January 13) to dismiss Chow Hang Tung's application for judicial review on the clothing policy for persons in custody (PICs).

The court judgment pointed out that the current clothing policy for PICs, including the requirement for female PICs to wear trousers in summer daytime, was formulated by the Correctional Services Department (CSD) as authorised by the Prison Rules. The Court was satisfied that the CSD had the expertise and experience in the relevant context, and that it had carefully considered various factors, taken into account of professional opinion when making the decision, as well as reviewed the policy continuously. The Court ruled that Chow Hang Tung had failed to demonstrate that the current policy constituted less favourable treatment of a particular gender. The Court pointed out that there was currently no factual evidence to support any assertion that there was widespread concern about the health effects of wearing trousers in summer. In addition, the rule was not absolute, but instead allowed individual PICs to apply for exceptional arrangements in special circumstances. At the same time, the Court also rejected Chow Hang Tung's assertion that she had requested to the CSD in July and August 2024 to wear shorts and had been refused.

A spokesman for the Security Bureau said, "The ruling of the Court of First Instance confirmed that the CSD's approach is reasonable, justified and lawful. According to Rule 26 of the Prison Rules, the CSD must provide every PIC with a uniform that meets a scale imposed by the Commissioner of Correctional Services. Over the years, the CSD had appointed task groups from time to time to review the clothing arrangements of PICs. These reviews gave ample consideration to numerous factors, including the type of correctional institutions, PICs' varying daily routines and activities involved, the need for thermal, physical and psychological comfort for PICs of different genders, privacy and decency of PICs and the security, good order and discipline of the prison, so as to continuously refine clothing arrangements according to the prevailing circumstances."

The spokesman stated, "Chow Hang Tung's assertion that she requested to wear shorts in summer and was rejected by the CSD is entirely inconsistent with the facts and was rejected by the Court. Besides, the current clothing policy for PICs already provides a degree of flexibility. For example, a PIC may make an application to wear other clothing on medical or non-medical grounds to the CSD, and the CSD would make appropriate arrangements having considered the actual circumstances and relevant factors."

The CSD will continue to impartially implement the relevant rules of the Prison Rules in accordance with the law and commit to providing a secure, safe, humane, decent and healthy custodial environment.

Civil Servants Urged to Register and Vote in Upcoming Hong Kong Legislative Council Election

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