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(d) Reaction within the civil service
Administrative Officers are a small group in
relation to the size of the civil service as a
whole and the impact of dropping the British
nationality requirement is not expected to create
much of a reaction among the rest of the civil
service.
(e) Reaction within the Administrative Service
It is unlikely that members of the Administrative
Service will react strongly. They are aware of the
contents of the Joint Declaration and of the Chief
Secretary's letter of 27 September, and will accept
the move as inevitable.
Younger members will
probably feel that, since most of their service is
to be with the SAR Government, the requirement
should be dropped without delay. There could be a
limited number of enquiries from serving officers
as to whether they are permitted to change their
national status. A possible way to deal with such
enquiries would be to inform those officers that,
while any change in status is not officially
favoured or recommended, it may in certain
G.F. 326
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