Tim Rathbone Esq, MP
House of Commons
LONDON
SW1A OAA
Thank you for your letter of 16 January, enclosing
one from your constituent, Mr Roger Sparkes of
Milton Street, near Alfriston.
The Joint Declaration between Great Britain and
China on the future of Hong Kong does not specifically
mention any cemeteries. But we have absolutely no reason
to believe that the current policies will be changed.
The Hong Kong Cemetery in Happy Valley lies on Crown
land, allocated for the purposes of a cemetery. The Authority responsible for the land is the Director of
Urban Services in the Hong Kong Government. For burials
prior to 1 December 1977 plots in the Hong Kong Cemetery
were allocated in perpetuity, save in the case of an overriding need for the land for a public purpose. This
is a matter of policy not law. The Director of Urban Services does not envisage any change in this policy post
1997.
The Urban Services Department have offered to visit
the relevant plots during their next inspection of the Cemetery, should Mr Sparkes so wish, and to write to him