No social workers stripped of license over national security offences yet, head of restructured registration body says
Hong Kong Free Press
Hong Kong’s social workers’ registration body has begun reviewing social workers’ records following the introduction of a new rule that bars anyone convicted of endangering national security from the sector. No one has been stripped of their license for this reason yet, the head of the body has said.
Herman Hui, the chairperson of the restructured Social Workers Registration Board, said in an interview with iCable that aired on Thursday that the new board had held a meeting last week.
It was their first since the new members were sworn in earlier this month, after lawmakers passed an amendment to the board that gave government appointees a majority and required them to remove licences from people convicted of crimes related to national security.
The board has started checking social workers’ records, he said, with nobody losing their license so far. Around 28,000 people in Hong Kong hold social workers’ licenses.
Hui also mentioned the case of social worker and activist Jackie Chen. Pro-Beijing media outlets had criticised the former board for allowing her a position on a disciplinary committee while facing retrial for a riot charge. Chen was earlier found not guilty of rioting before the government successfully appealed.
He said the board had invalidated the committee’s membership list and appointed a team to investigate.
“If there really is such a person, even though they have not been convicted in the eyes of the law, they could affect the image [of the sector],” Hui said in Cantonese.
Hui, who is a lawyer, previously sat on the social workers’ board from 2019 to 2022. Members appointed by the government do not have to be social workers.
Fast-tracked overhaul
A new board was sworn in early last month, days after the opposition-free Legislative Council passed an amendment to the body that authorities said was needed to “better protect national security.”
Despite a survey of 3,000-odd social workers showing that the sector overwhelmingly disapproved of the changes, saying they would undermine the autonomy of the profession, there was no significant pushback to the government proposal. Social work veterans HKFP spoke to said the social workers who opposed the amendment were afraid of speaking up for fear of affecting their jobs.
With the overhaul of the social work licensing body, the percentage of government-appointed members increased from 40 per cent to more than 60 per cent, a change that reduces the influence of members elected by their peers.
In both the old and the new boards, the number of elected members was eight. But the changes increased the size of the board from 15 to 27, with more members chosen by the authorities.
The current board, however, has just 20 members, because seven out of the eight elected members quit after the government announced the proposals. Welfare chief Chris Sun said there were no plans yet to hold elections to fill the empty seats.
Traditionally, social workers with pro-democracy affiliations have dominated the elected seats.
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