CONFI CONFIDENTIAL
5. In his TelNo 81 of 29 June the Governor summarised views on the Green Paper. Public opinion was slightly in favour of a voluntary scheme, whereas unofficial members of LegCo and industrial and Trades Unions favoured a compulsory one. The Governor expressed fears about a disruption of the status quo as the implications of the scheme were discussed, and that there might be adverse reaction from Påing. This latter point was answered in Peking TelNo 30 of · 3 July.
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Mr Upton's minute of 7 July summarises the background to the proposal that the Hong Kong Government should contribute to the Social Security Scheme, the first indication of support for this idea coming from Mr Hurst's report. Mr Hurst's Trade Union contacts Flag H favoured wider ranging benefits as well as a Government contribution.
7. The draft White Paper was received in August, and Mr McLaren's submission of 22 August outlined the main points. FCO TelNo 677 of 31 August expressed regret at the lack of a clear indication of Government policy, hope that the preference for a contributory scheme with the Government bearing the administrative costs would not be seen as the limit of the Government's commitment to the scheme and noted the omission of retirement and possible omission of death benefits.
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CONFIDENTI AL
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