Former Under Secretary for Security Sonny Au named secretary-general of national security committee

08-08-2022 11:57 HKT

Former Under Secretary for Security Sonny Au Chi-kwong has been named the city’s new secretary-general to the Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

A government statement on Monday noted that the State Council, on the nomination and suggestion of Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, approved the appointment of Au and the removal of Chan Kwok-ki from the post.

Au was first tipped as the favorite to succeed Chan in the post in June, after then director of the Chief Executive's Office Chan was appointed as the Chief Secretary for Administration in CE Lee’s cabinet.

Commenting on the appointment, the city’s leader Lee said Au has been Under Secretary for Security over the past five years, and possesses a strong sense of national security and is well versed in national security affairs.

“He is capable of taking up the post of Secretary General to lead the Secretariat in supporting the Committee to fulfill its crucial responsibility to safeguard national security,” he added.

Au, 61, was aide-de-camp to Hong Kong’s first chief executive, Tung Chee-hwa, and protected the city’s leader between 1998 and 2002.

In 1980, at the age of 18, he joined the police force as a constable. He was appointed an inspector in 1986.

Later, as chief superintendent of the department’s security wing, Au worked closely with Lee, the director of crime and security at the time. Au was named the director of crime and security in 2016.

It is understood that Au is Lee’s trusted aid, having been working as a deputy to Lee when Lee was the city’s security chief in 2017.

In March last year, Au was among three senior officials involved in a so-called hot pot scandal, with the three each fined HK$5,000 for breaching the four-person gathering ban in place by then.

However, a decision to forgive the trio for attending the dinner in violation of Covid rules, with the three only being condemned for having 'lacked sensitivity' has sparked outrage among Hong Kong citizens who were observing strict Covid curbs at that period.