Legal Compliance and Probity

Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong

In accordance to the “Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region”, it is the duty of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region under the Constitution to safeguard national security and the Region shall perform the duty accordingly, and executive authorities, legislature and judiciary of the Region shall effectively prevent, suppress and impose punishment for any act or activity endangering national security in accordance with this Law and other relevant laws. The Social Welfare Department implements necessary measures to strengthen publicity, guidance, supervision, and management of social groups related to national security matters, raise awareness of national security and the rule of law, and prevent any crime that may harm national security from happening.

NGOs operating subvented services must comply with the laws and regulations related to safeguarding national security. If an NGO participates in any activities that violate the law of safeguarding national security, the Social Welfare Department may consider terminating the "Funding and Service Agreement" with the concerned NGO.

Under the Service Performance Monitoring System, NGOs operating subvented services shall comply with the requirements of 16 Service Quality Standards (SQSs). Of which, SQS 8 stipulates that subvented service units must comply with all relevant legal obligations. Compliance with national security has formed the basis of the annual self-assessment of social welfare service units and an integral part of the service performance monitoring by the SWD. NGOs should have in place an effective internal audit mechanism to ensure that their service units abide by the law. The SWD will also conduct assessment visits to confirm that the service units comply with the requirements.

Probity and Corruption Prevention

NGOs operating subvented services should take effective measures to uphold integrity and prevent abuse of public resources. NGO may refer to the following guidelines:

Others