TNAG-0305-FCO40-341-Use-of-Chinese-as-official-language-in-Hong-Kong-1971 — Page 162

學聯

OUR REF:

YOUR REF:

"COVED IN

RIGL. ZY No. 51

20JUL 1971

HICK

AKK8/3

RIBIMUS OS

Mr. Lauid for deoft.

нко

eply pleca

HKFS

hong kong federation of students

LAST

香港專上學生聯會

23c waterloo road, kowloon hong kong 九龍窩打老道二 十三 號C

tel. k-888137, 840048, 840049

telegram "HKFSTUDENT"

成員學生會:

Member

Unions :

中文大學崇基學院學生會

Chung Chi College Student

Union, Chinese University of

Hong Kong

萬量洪教育學院學生會

Grantham College of

Education Students Assn.

香港浸會學院學生會

Hong Kong Baptist College

Student Union

香港工業學院學生會

Hong Kong Technical College

Hong Kong University

Student Union

香港大學學生會

Student Union

嶺南書院學生會

Lingnan College Student

Union

中文大學新亞書院學生暫

New Asia College Student

Union, Chinese University of

Hong Kong

羅富國師範學院學生會

Northcote College of Education Students' Assn.

柏立基師範學院學生會

Sir Robert Black College of

Education Student Assn. 中文大學聯合書院學生會

United College Student

Union, Chinese University of Hong Kong

幹事會:

Executive Committee

會 長

President

Mr. Chung Lun nap

鍾倫納

副會長

Deputy President

C.U.

中大

Mr. Kwan Pun-fong H.K.U.

關品方

副會長一國際事務

港大

International Vice-president

Mr. Freeman Huen Fook-nam

褟福南 中大

常務秘書

C.U.

General Secretary

Miss Morna Sung Mel-hung

宋美紅

港大

本港事務秘書

H.K.U.

B.C.

漫會

T.C.

工事

C.U.

Local Affairs Secretary

Mr. Mok Kam-chuen

龔錦泉

財務秘書

Financial Secretary

Mr. Lam Shek-wing

林錫榮

福利秘書

Student Welfare Secretary

Mr. Thomas Chan Chat-yin

新聞秘書

Mr. Leung Kwong-lam C.U.

體育秘書

Sports Secretary

Miss Helena Tso Wong-hing

曹旺卿 A N. C. E.

學生旅遊秘書

Student Travel Affairs Secretary

Miss Malina Chan Sim-ching

陳輝貞 浸會

B.C.

陳澤賢 中大

Press Secretary

梁廣林

中大

REF.

NEXT

รอ

Mr. Anthony Royle,

22nd July 1971.

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State,

Foreign and Commonwealth Office,

London S.W.1

Dear Mr. Royle,

Further to our meeting at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in January this year, I am writing on behalf of the Hong Kong Federation of Students to reaffirm the demand of HKFS that Chinese be recognised as an Official Language in Hong Kong.

Broadly speaking, HKFS recognises two aspects of the matter: the administrative aspect concerning the usage of the Chinese language in local Councils, communications of government with the public and law; and the political aspect on the status of the language.

On the aspect of usage of the Chinese language, HKFS is generally satisfied with the widely-covered recommendations of the Chinese Language Committee which was appointed by the Hong Kong Government last October to examine the

We understand

use of Chinese in official business.

members of the Committee have been working seriously and diligently on the subject.

The Committee stated in its 3rd Report that "equal status does not necessarily imply

Status denotes equal use in every single instance.

the rank of one language in relation to another, whereas use concerns communication." During our second meeting with the Committee held on 16th July

1971, we expressed our wholehearted support to the statement. We believe that status, which is

a matter of respect, should be absolutely equal, whereas in the light of practicability and

technical difficulties, it may very well be true that Chinese cannot attain the same level of useage as English.

In defining what we mean by an official language, we advocate that "LEGISLATION BE ENACTED TO THE EFFECT OF DECLARING BOTH CHINESE AND ENGLISH OFFICIAL LANGUAGES OF HONG KONG, EQUAL IN STATUS,

WITH THE USAGE OF THE CHINESE LANGUAGE DEFINED IN SPECIFIC AREAS."