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GOVERNMENT
POJ
ONCY ONOK
M
CONFIDENTIAL
20 April 1993
ん
Hong Kong: Arrangements for Members of
Her Majesty's Overseas Civil Service
(HMOCS)
At your meeting with Douglas Hurd and myself on 16 April it was left open for me to send a further assessment of the risk of judicial review by the Hong Kong HMOCS Association and to comment on the timetable for solution of this thorny and protracted issue.
There is no doubt that the HMOCS ABвociation feel very strongly that HMG have not tackled this issue expeditiously and with the will to seek an honourable solution. They have been quiescent for some time because they believe that action is at last proceeding and that an equitable solution is imminent. This is partly due to the moderate attitude of the Association's leadership and our own efforts to head off any political embarrassment such as public media condemnation of HMG by Hong Kong HMOCS officers. They have scheduled a committee meeting for 22 April and an Extraordinary General Meeting has been set for a couple of weeks later. This has all been done in anticipation, I believe, of decisions being made during my recent visit to London.
When the Association learn that decisions have not been made and that the further FCO/ODA consultation visit promised last autumn is not imminent, tempera are likely to flare. Whilst the Association Committee would prefer to seek judicial review, I believe that some of the membership may then go public. This could cause acute embarrassment to HMG at a time of extreme sensitivity on other Hong Kong issues.
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