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5. IN REPLACING A CHINESE AND A EURASIAN BY AN EXPATRIATE AND A PORTUGUESE EURASIAN, THERE WOULD BE A SLIGHT TEMPORARY SHIFT IN THE BALANCE OF THE COUNCIL WHICH WOULD BE REDRESSED WHEN SIR SIDNEY GORDON IS REPLACED BY A CHINESE NEXT YEAR.
LEGCO
6. MR PETER WILLIAMS HAS ASKED TO RETIRE AND I RECOMMEND THAT
HE BE REPLACED BY MR NEWBIGGING, CURRENTLY CHAIRMAN OF JARDINES. HE IS A HIGHLY INTELLIGENT AND OUTWARD-LOOKING PERSON, AGED 44, WHO HAS WORKED HARD IN VARIOUS FIELDS OF PUBLIC SERVICE OUTSIDE HIS BUSINESS INTERESTS. NO CHANGE IN PRINCIPLE WOULD BE INVOLVED IN REPLACING THE CHAIRMAN OF INCHCAPE BY THE CHAIRMAN OF JARDINES, AND IN VIEW OF HIS VERY CONSIDERABLE INFLUENCE AMONG THE CHINESE AND EXPATRIATE COMMUNITIES AND BECAUSE OF HIS BREADTH OF VIEW
NEWBIGGING IS HEAD AND SHOULDERS ABOVE ANY OTHER MEMBER OF THE BRITISH BUSINESS WORLD HERE EXCEPT BREMBRIDGE (ALREADY ON EXCO)
AND POSSIBLE SANDBERG.
7. I ALSO RECOMMEND THAT THE FOLLOWING SHOULD BE RETIRED: -
A. SIR S Y CHUNG
B. MISS KO STU-WAH.
B(A). SIR S Y CHUNG HAS BEEN SENIOR MEMBER FOR FIVE YEARS AND
IS ANXIOUS TO BE RELIEVED. UNLESS HE RETIRES THIS YEAR HE COULD
BECOME SENIOR MEMBER OF BOTH EXCO AND LEGCO WHEN SIR Y K KAN
RETIRES NEXT YEAR, THIS IS NOT DESIRABLE.
B) MISS KO STU-WAH HAS ONLY BEEN ON FOR FOUR YEARS AND HAS BEEN
A DISAPPOINTMENT. I RECOMMENDED HER APPOINTMENT BECAUSE AS
DIRECTOR OF THE YMCA AND AN ACTIVE MEMBER OF THE COUNCIL OF
SOCIAL SERVICES, SHE WAS A PROFESSIONAL SOCIAL WORKER. BUT, IN SPITE OF HER KNOWLEDGE, SHE HAS PROVED RATHER INEFFECTIVE, PARTICULARLY IN COMMITTEE. MOREOVER, THE COUNCIL IS WELL SUPPLIED
WITH MIDDLE-CLASS SOCIAL WORKERS AND HER RETIREMENT WOULD
LEAVE ROOM FOR SOMEONE WITH MORE OF A GRASS ROOTS BACKGROUND.
9. IN MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS FOR REPLACEMENTS I MUST OBVIOUSLY
BALANCE THE PROPOSED APPOINTMENTS OF MR NEWBIGGING AND MR SANDBERG
(WHICH INCIDENTALLY WILL BE VERY WELL RECEIVED HERE) WITH OTHER
APPOINTMENTS OF A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT TYPE. MY PROPOSALS ARE:-
A. PROFESSOR AMBROSE KING, AGED 43, HEAD OF NEW ASIA COLLEGE AT THE CHINESE UNIVERSITY, SOCIOLOGIST. HE HAS LECTURED ON SOCIOLOGY
AT THE CHINESE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1970. BORN IN CHEKIANG, HE
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