CAEADD
1
I agree. Drafted
CONFIDENTIAL
HKC 225/1
Reference.....................................
3
3
AGREE
A
B
Mr Wood
(Drafted in consultation with me).
Miss Marsden"/1⁄2 I also Mr Paul
COMMONWEALTH WAR GRAVES
1.
gre.
HKC 225/1 czzisti
You will recall that the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) has recently been pressing us to raise with the Chinese the future of their two war cemetaries in Hong Kong. The attached paper, drafted by GDB, proposes that:
(a) the subject should be raised with the Chinese in the Land Commission, rather than the JLG; and
(b) the future of the CWGC cemetaries should be set in the context of a general review of the future of private cemetaries in Hong Kong.
2. GDB propose to present a paper to the Land Commission explaining the system of Deeds of Appropriation by which the Government, while retaining ownership of the land used for private cemetaries, declares that the land will continue to be used as a cemetary provided certain conditions are met. The paper proposes that the nine existing Deeds of Appropriation should remain valid until renounced by the cemetary keepers or revoked by the Government. future extensions to private cemetaries (whether the existing cemetary is held under a land lease or
a land lease or a Deed of Appropriation) should also be made under Deed of Appropriation. It is necessary to address this problem now in order to decide how to deal with a proposed extension to the Aberdeen cemetary, the first such extension since the JD.
3.
Any
The nine cemetaries held under Deed of Appropriation include two CWGC cemetaries, at Sai Wan and Stanley. GDB argue that it would be easier for the Chinese to agree to provide for the future of the CWGC cemetaries in the context of a general provision for private cemetaries, rather than to agree specifically to security of tenure of the CWGC cemetaries.
4. I agree with the broad line suggested by GDB but would add the following:
(a) the proposed discussion in the Land Commission would deal with CWGC concerns over the two war cemetaries on public land. It is unclear whether there are any on military land. It would be useful to check this. (There is a reference in the draft ExCo paper to "Commonwealth War Graves and Memorials located elswhere in Hong Kong"). If there are CWGC cemetaries on military land, that would be inevitably a complicating factor given the defence discussions in the JLG.
(b)
under the Deed of Appropriation of the Stanley Military Cemetary, maintenance costs are split between the CWGC (2/3) and HKG
CONFIDENTIAL
CODE 18-77