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5. The four reports submitted by the Chinese Language Committee
were presented to the Governor and it is accordingly for the Hong
Kong Government in the first place to consider the recommendations
in those reports. We know that the Governor in Council has
accepted in principle the recommendations contained in the
Committee's first report. (These involve, inter alia, the
provision of simultaneous interpretation facilities for the
Legislative and Urban Councils as the first step, to be followed
by the provision of similar facilities for Boards and Committees "utilising the services of non-English speaking persons").
But we do not know what stage has been reached by the Hong Kong
Government in its consideration of the recommendations contained
in the remaining three reports submitted by the Committee.
It would, I suggest, be inappropriate for the Minister to express
any views on the matters raised by the Language Action Committee
of the Hong Kong Federation of Students pending the outcome of the Hong Kong Government's deliberations on the recommendations
made by the Chinese Language Committee.
6.
Having regard to the above considerations, the terms of a
suggested reply to the Hong Kong Federation of Students were put to the Acting Governor in paragraph 3 of Mr Laird's letter to him
of 14 October and have been agreed by the Acting Governor in
his telegram No 798.
7. Since there has been some delay (which I regret) in dealing
with the earlier letter from the Federation, I now recommend
that a telegram be sent to the Acting Governor on the lines of
the attached draft asking him to cause a reply to be sent to the
Federation, on Mr Royle's behalf, in the terms already agreed
with him.
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