As James Hacker, the fictional Minister for Administrative Affairs in the acclaimed British political comedy, “Yes, Minister” once said, “The three articles of Civil Service faith: It takes longer to do things quickly, it's more expensive to do them cheaply, and it's more democratic to do them in secret." That was supposed to be a joke but right now in a civil service rather closer to home, that joke is not sounding so funny. Moreover, Hong Kong’s 177,000 or so civil servants have now been told to put on their sternest faces as they are required to pledge their loyalty on pain of dismissal for not so doing. With me to talk about the loyalty declaration requirement for civil servants and public officers are Arisina Ma, president of the HK Public Doctors Association and Jeremy Young, a Central and Western District Councillor.

The four years of Donald Trump’s presidency came to an end on Wednesday morning. He’ll be missed by some, but – according to opinion polls - not by most.
Donald Trump did however achieve one breakthrough: he was the first US president to be impeached twice. But he still has loyal supporters like Senator Lindsey Graham, who reckons the Republican Party continues to need him. On the other hand, Mitch McConnell, now leader of the Republican opposition in the Senate, is busy stepping away from Trump accusing him of inciting the far-right extremists who stormed Capitol Hill on January 6th, an action that led to the deaths of six people. Former vice-president Mike Pence, a target for those protesters, broke with Trump over his attempts to stop Joe Biden’s inauguration, which took place in highly restrictive circumstances. The Pulse was on the ground in Washington DC for Inauguration Day.