Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SW1A 2AH
13 February 1990
FNM Pusinelli Esq
Chairman
Overseas Service Pensioners Association
63 Church Road
Hove
Sussex BN3 2BD
Dear is Pusinelli,
Thank you for your letter of 19 January. I am very sorry you have not yet received a reply to your letter of 24 October 1989. I understand that Mr Paul did telephone the Secretary of your Association, Mr Stenton, to explain that the Department had been under great pressure recently and that a full reply would be sent to you as soon as possible. But that does not excuse the long delay.
Following the meeting on 23 June, the Department took up with the Hong Kong Government, as agreed, the question of the protection of the value of Hong Kong pensions, which we consider to be the responsibility of. the Hong Kong Government. I have to say that no progress has yet been made on this general question, although the Hong Kong Government have undertaken to examine any serious hardship cases arising from exchange rate fluctuations. If you know of any such cases the Department would be happy to pass on details to the Hong Kong Government.
In your letter of 24 October, you asked for confirmation of the position of Her Majesty's Government in the event of any failure by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to honour its commitment after 1997 to Hong Kong pensioners. As you know, the Sino British Joint Declaration on Hong Kong contains very clear assurances in respect of the continued payment of pensions after 1997, and there is no reason to believe that this undertaking will not be honoured by the future Hong Kong SAR Government. If however the situation after 1997 warranted it, I am sure that the British Government of the day would take appropriate action in recognition of its responsibilities for HMOCS officers.
Your anicely,
förm Rebarka
RJT McLaren