TNAG-0471-FCO40-536-Use-of-Chinese-as-an-official-language-in-Hong-Kong-1974 — Page 5

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Foreign and Commonwealth Office London SW1

L Carr-Carme Esq

66 Shaftesbury Avenue London

W1

Telephone 01- 930 8440

Xn 632

Your reference

Our reference

Date 11 November 1974

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I have read

Thank you for your letter and enclosures of 6 November. these with interest but I should tell you that the choice of languages used in Hong Kong is a matter for the Hong Kong Government.

In this regard you may be interested to know that the Hong Kong Government's new White Paper on "Secondary Education In Hong Kong Over The Next Decade" (tabled in the Legislative Council, 16 October) states that "it is the Government's intention that individual school authorities should themselves decide whether the medium of instruction should be English or Chinese for any particular subject in junior secondary forms..

It is not intended to be more specific on this topic until full consultation with schools has taken place...... The Government intends to review arrangements for the language of instruction as these develop.

You may wish to raise this matter further with the Director of Education (Lee Gardens, 33-37 Hysan Avenue, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong). Meanwhile, on a matter of detail, I should also tell you that it was my father who was with the Lord Chancellor's Office.

BH Dinwiddy

Hong Kong & Indian Ocean Department