From
The VICE-CHANCELLOR
Ref. No. OVS/3
DOME MINA
NWX 110
$113 MEN
University Offices Wellington Square Oxford OX1 2JD
Telephone (0865) 270242 or (0865) 248372
25 May 1988
Dear Sir Geoffrey,
I am writing to ask if, on your imminent visit to Hong Kong, you would very kindly undertake to raise with Dr Stanley Ho the matter of our Hong Kong Archive Project at Oxford. I know that this is a project to which Her Majesty's Government attaches importance.
Both in academic and administrative circles it has been recognised that there is an urgent need to collect historical documents, manuscripts and oral records which relate to the period of British rule in Hong Kong. The extraordinary story of the territory must be preserved before 1997. In Western Europe only Oxford has a specialised unit dealing with the archives, history and society of Hong Kong. Indeed, we understand that the only other such unit outside Hong Kong itself is in Tokyo; there is none in the U.S. We therefore believe that we have a major responsibility for the task.
We
We have made some progress with a pilot project collecting and adding to our collections, building up oral records and setting up an exchange of microfilm of primary source material between Oxford University, the Library of Hong Kong University and the Public Records Office of Hong Kong. Thus, we have ensured that the most extensive historical resources will be available both in Britain and in Hong Kong itself. have also begun to explore such possibilities with Macau so that the project will be in a direct way of benefit to Hong Kong and Macau also. However the funding for the pilot scheme ends in October this year. In order to move forward and to do the task justice, we are now seeking to establish funding for the archive and its staffing on a permanent basis.
For this we shall need a minimum figure of £1 million to cover the costs of a permanent archivist post, the completion of the oral records and the exchanges of materials with institutions in Hong Kong and Macau, and the building up of a collection of books and other reference materials about Hong Kong and Macau. A further sum of £500,000 would cover the
/2.