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5. May I propose that we meet next week to discuss this draft? Dave Fish could come down to London on Thursday 23 July for this purpose (he will then be away for three weeks). Perhaps you could telephone me to let me know whether that would be convenient for you and, if so, what time would suit you best.
6. On the question you raise about the policy goal of our proposals. the Foreign Secretary made clear in his minutes of 1 May to the Chief Secretary and 12 June to the Chancellor that he believes the Government should:
(a) address the strong moral and political commitments of successive governments;
(b) minimise the risk of the Government's decisions in this respect being challenged and over-turned by judicial review; and
(c) avoid the loss of many HMOCS officers before 1997, which could jeopardise our ability to govern Hong Kong effectively up to 1997 and damage the prospects for a smooth transition.
(He noted that in terms of incentive the priority is now to induce officers to serve at least until 1997, rather than for any long period thereafter.)
7.
Particularly against this background, I think that your concerns about the implications of any early retirement arrangements may be exaggerated, but we should be very happy to discuss this further when we meet.
Your sincerely,
Nigel.
N J Cox
Hong Kong Department
cc Mr D Fish, ODA
HMT
Mrs Sandra Brown, Mr D Rayson, HMT Mr G Ballantine, GAD.
CONFIDENTIAL