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agreement of all concerned that Miss Brooks should take up Ken Walker's post in the Hong Kong Government in 1994, with a view to transferring to the future Consulate-General in 1996/7. This too will be a key part of maintaining expertise in depth on Hong Kong in the Section.
4.
Although not strictly part of the WPA, we have also appreciated Far East Section's input to Cabinet Office meetings and papers on Hong Kong.
5. There was one significant collective failure of institutional memory during the year in question. I cite this case not to blame Far East Section, since responsibility is spread much more widely, but to illustrate the political importance of maintaining adequate research capability on the Hong Kong issue.
6.
I emphasise again that I am not attributing blame to the Far East Section. We have taken steps to minimise the risk of such a collective lapse of memory happening again, particularly by having Hong Kong draw up a comprehensive index of Ministerial exchanges since 1984. But the episode has illustrated the importance of developing and then sustaining familiarity with our negotiating record with the Chinese. Far East Section is the obvious place for this expertise to reside in the FCO. We will continue to try to involve Far East Section in the main issues under discussion with the Chinese, partly with a view to maintaining this expertise.
Rachel
check
PF Ricketts
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