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LOCALISATION OF THE GOVERNMENT AND CIVIL SERVICE. BECAUSE SO CHINESE IN MACAU SPOKE PORTUGUESE IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT TO PROMOTE THEM TO SENIOR POSITIONS, SINCE PORTUGUESE WAS THE LANGUAGE OF THE GOVERNMENT. THE CHINESE HOWEVER WERE INSISTING ON A PROGRAMME OF LOCALISATION: THE MACAU ADMINISTRATION WERE TRYING TO REMEDY THE SITUATION BY SENDING MORE LOCALS ON COURSES IN PORTUGAL. LORD CAITHNESS WAS TOLD THAT BY AND LARGE MACAU JLG MEETINGS THREE UP LESS PROBLEMS, IT SEEMS, THAN THE HONG KONG JLG MEETINGS, BUT OF COURSE SINCE HANDOVER IS NOT UNTIL 1999 THEY HAVE TWO YEARS IN HAND AND ON SOME ISSUES AT LEAST FOLLOW THE HK JLG PRECEDENTS.
4.
BRIG. RIBEIRO AND HIS WIFE HOSTED A LUNCH FOR LORD AND LADY CAITHNESS (A STAND-UP BUFFET, TO OBSCURE, WE UNDERSTAND, MRS RIBEIRO'S LACK OF ENGLISH, BUT WITH SHORT SPEECHES NONETHELESS). THE REST OF THE PROGRAMME WAS DEVOTED TO SIGHTSEEING, GIVING LORD CAITHNESS A CHANCE TO SEE THE EVIDENCE OF THE ECONOMIC BOOM THAT IS PRODUCING AS MANY NEW BUILDINGS, COMPARATIVELY SPEAKING, IN MACAU AS IN HONG KONG, AND A SKY-LINE THAT CHANGES AT LEAST AS FAST.
5. IT WAS A SUCCESSFUL AND CERTAINLY A USEFUL VISIT. THE GOVERNMENT LEADERS OF MACAU GAVE UP MUCH OF THEIR SATURDAY TO THE VISIT AND DEMONSTRATED FOR THE SECOND TIME IN A WEEK (THE DUKE OF KENT HAD VISITED THREE DAYS BEFORE) THAT THEY WERE READY TO SHOW A SPECIAL WARMTH TO VISITORS FROM THE UK. IT ENABLED BOTH SIDES TO GAIN A FURTHER TASTE OF THE COMMON PROBLEMS THAT FACE MACAU AND HONG KONG, AND GAVE LORD CAITHNESS A FURTHER LOOK AT THE PACIFIC RIM ECONOMIC MIRACLE, ALBEIT IN ONE OF ITS SMALLER MANIFESTATIONS, BUT ONE THAT IS NOT ((IMPORTANT)) TO US, BOTH BECAUSE OF OUR COMMERCIAL INTERESTS AND BECAUSE OF THE HONG KONG PARALLELS.
COMMS NOTE: WILL CONFIRM WORD IN BRACKETS TOMORROW 12TH DEC.
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