nees
3
Lt.Col. Harmon for the post of a Liaison Officer). The existence of an officer particularly charged with these functions should not of course absolve the Secretary for Chinese Affairs himself from having close contact with leading Chinese personalities.
5
And not only the Secretary for Chinese Affairs but all senior members of the Hong Kong Administration should be urged to develop and maintain close contacts with Chinese personalities and Chinese thought. One of the frequent
criticisms of the Hong Kong Administration before the war was of its parochial outlook. Many officials, one gathers, spent their lives in this small island with very little knowledge or conscieuse of the main stream of Chinese life flowing passed their front-door and I have been told that many Heads of Departments knew personally no prominent Chinese outside the Colony. Clearly
a spirit or understanding and cooperation between ourselves and the Chinese cannot develop in an insular atmosphere of this kind.
He
6 It is interesting that two personalities of such a different outlook and background as Mr. Keswick and Mr. Sloss, Vice-Chancellor of the University, should hold views that are practically identical on this subject. Mr. Sloss recently expressed to me his conviction that the post of Secretary for Chinese Arrairs should be re-drawn in just such a way' as Mr. Keswick suggests. expressed the view that while the late S.C.A. and the present Acting Secretary were excellent in regard to internal problems connected with the Chinese and particularly in connection with labour and social conditions in the Colony, they perhaps lacked the political and "diplomatic" experience which he felt were required for Hong Kong's post- wer relations with China.
The Foreign Orfice have expressed the view that the two Departments of Internal and External Chinese Arfairs should be separated and that a Foreign Service Officer with China experience should be appointed to assume responsibility for the latter and should report direct to the Governor and also to the Ambassador. I myself feel that for the reasons given above such a division would be unfortunate and that what is required is that the Government as a whole and the Secretary for Chinese Afrairs in particular should be more conscious of External Affairs. I do not feel that this would be achieved by putting External Affairs into the hands of a specialist Foreign Service Officer. Hitherto the post of Secretary for Chinese Affairs has been filled from the ranks of cadet officers. I am cold that there are three senior cadet officers who might be considered for this post and that one of them has already acted in it on three or four occasions. I know nothing of the particular qualifications of these officers, but having regard to the comments so frequently expressed as to the narrowness of the Hong Kong Service and having regard also to the views expressed by the Ambassador and the Foreign Ortice, it may be that the present time would be opportune for introducing fresh blood by bringing in someone from outside. What is required I think is the breadth of outlook and
/Formality