COPY.
OUTWARD TELEGRAM
Colonial offioe.
Mr. Gent.
This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's
Government, and should be kept under Lock and Key.
(F 2541/21/10)
C
C
R
(2/21/20)
No. 470.
With the Compliments
of the Under
Secretary of DEPARTMENTAL NO. 2. State for Foreign Affairs.
FROM FOREIGN OFFICE TO CHUNGKING.
02
C
4th April, 1942.
ᏤᏤᏤᏤᏤᏤᏤ
D.11.45 p.m. 5th April, 1942.
Your telegram No. 379 of 27th March:
treatment o Hong Kong Government officials escaping to Free China 7.
Paragraph 1 (a). As regards British staff, Hong Kong officials if made prisoners of war, will remain entitled to salary for the period of captivity, provided they are on permanent pensionable establishment or serving on agreement in pensionable office. Position of other non-locally recruited officers serving on agreement is under consideration, but they will be entitled to salary so long as they are imprisoned possibly subject to deduction, on analogy of temporary servants of United Kingdom Government Departments, of notional Foreign Service Allowance element.
Above for information. As regards British officials evading or escaping from captivity, position is as follows:-
1. Pensionable officers. Our policy is to find if possible other temporary employment within the Colonial Service. If such employment is not available, they would be retired on abolition of office. Please send names of any such officers. We should not object to continuance of salary during interim period of (a few) months while possibilities of placing are investigateed.
2. Officers on agreement. These should be given notice by you.
Period of notice is three months from date of letter conveying such notice except for those on month to month agreement where period is one month. (We should like to have names).
3. As regards repatriation, policy should be that, so far