CONFIDENTIAL
bearing on the eligibility of officers for compensation. The actuarial factors used to calculate the compensation payments assume that officers will retire with immediate payment of
pension. The 1954 and 1960 White Papers provide that HMOCS
officers who are prepared to work to the end of British
sovereignty are entitled to both the right to retire with
pension and compensation. In Hong Kong compensation would
only be payable to officers whose normal retirement date would
fall after 30 June 1997.
10. Chris Patten and I have discussed all this since you and
I met. We are both concerned that the agreed package should
strike the right balance between the interests of the British
taxpayer and those of Hong Kong and the officers concerned. We cannot afford to put forward another proposal which HMOCS
officers can reject with justification and with the prospect
of securing Parliamentary backing for their position. The
Governor's willingness to consider offering the right to
retirement offers the prospect of a substantial reduction in
the contingent liability for HMG. I therefore hope that we
can settle quickly on a safeguard rate of 16:1 and the
Option C compensation scheme, which forms a fair package which
we can press hard on the HMOCS Association.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
18 November 1992
ды
(DOUGLAS HURD)
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