SUYAKA (2)
available for certain special purposes where title to the land was
not required. Such land grants included the Commonwealth War Graves
Commission Cemeteries at Stanley and Sai Wan and three other private cemeteries, a temple, and two memorials. If the Chinese side agree,
we shall have on record in the form of an agreed minute of the Land
Commission agreement that the present land grant by way of Deeds of
Appropriation in respect of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemeteries will remain undisturbed and valid up to and beyond 1 July
1997.
In the unlikely event that the Chinese insist that existing land
grants by Deeds of Appropriation should be replaced by leases
expiring in 2047, we should accept the point, but argue that such leases should be treated as if they had been granted before the
entry into force of the Joint Declaration. Land so granted would
thus not fall within the provisions of paras 3 and 4 of Annex III of
the Joint Declaration (ie they would not be subject to an annual
rent of 3% of rateable value, and they would not count towards the
50 hectare limit on land grants).
MANAGEMENT ARRANGEMENTS
At present, there is a certain degree of conflict in the role of
the Director of Urban Services in respect of the CWGC. On the one
hand, he acts as the agent in the care and maintenance of the CWGC's
cemeteries and protects their interests in the cemeteries. On the
other hand, under the relevant provisions in Cap 132 (details
attached), he has wide powers in relation to the general management
and control of cemeteries, including the CWGC.
The CWGC may therefore wish to consider whether to appoint,
before 1997, an agent to look after their interests in place of the
Director of Urban Services, who will have no official role in the
Commonwealth after 1997.
The maintenance cost of one of the Cemeteries (Stanley) is shared
between the CWGC and Hong Kong Government the CWGC paying 2/3 and Hong Kong Government 1/3. This arrangement is based on clause 8 of
the Deed of Appropriation in respect of this cemetery. The ratio is