CONFIDENTIAL
- 4 ·
being no love lost between them and local Chinese residents (Macanese are Eurasians who are ashamed of the asian elements in their makeup), they will be unlikely to be willing to work under Chinese bosses, if the bosses have been elevated to posts for which they have been ill-prepared.
Unlike us, Macau is not faced with identifying the most effective devices that will ensure that in the future constitutional structure the whole range of posts will be filled by highly suitable candidates. Their daunting task is to bring into existence a class of persons that do not at present exist, ie they have to nurture/educate and train average individuals so that they will be highly suitable for the wide range of posts that will have to be filled in a Portuguese constitutional set-up which will work according to rules which are expressed in an alien tongue, as well as a body of civil servants fluent in that tongue and familiar with that scheme of government.
It would seem that the Portuguese had good reasons for wanting a delay in handing over Macau. The conversion of Macau's local inhabitants into educated Portuguese is a process for which a period of twelve years does not seem to me realistic.
I will not be writing again on this subject for some time as I do not expect further reaction of any consequence in Macau in the weeks ahead.
វ
CC Chancery Lisbon Chancery Peking
Yours as ever
steven
KUO Ket-chen
for Director of Immigration
KKC/ny
KONSIDENTIAL