TNAG-0980-FCO40-1199-Implications-for-Hong-Kong-of-changes-in-British-nationality-1980 — Page 77

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File No.

Confidential Locally- Engaged Hecess

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M.4

719.0

5/12

Page

Mr. Muzice v

Mr.

Wills and your J813 Her Seate

8+2 Gives me by the..

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34071

At present we have 108 local officers whose RY NO. 51 appointments have been approved by Secretary of State₪ 1981

up as follows

Admin Officers from SAO upwards

Police Officers from

Chief Superintendent upwards

1.4

DESK OFFICER GITEX

Judiciary and Legal Officers

from DJL3 upwards

2

Other Departmental Officers from Directorate pt. 3 upwards

49

108

REGISTRY Action Taken

13:30 20/1

2.

The strength of officers falling in this senior category is likely to increase by about 11% annually, according to the trend of the past five years. If the trend persists, the number will reach about 500 officers by the year 2000.

3.

By the nature of their work, officers at this senior level are expected to defend publicly the Crown's interests. There is no room for divided loyalty here. They provide the leadership of and indeed represent the Government.

4.

For nearly all of them, service to the Crown is a commitment for the major part of their working life.

Many of them will rise to Head of Department level, and possibly LegCo and ExCo. Their public service is normally recognised by the award of honours (QPM, OBE, CBE or CMG) in their final years of service. For them, Crown Service is not a hollow concept, but rather a vocation.

5.

This group of officers will not willingly leave Hong Kong, unless circumstances are such as to really endanger the lives of their families and themselves. A view put to me by one of them is that if there were ever a constitutional change in Hong Kong and if such change were to be a gradual and peaceful process, a good number of these officers might prefer to remain and keep Hong Kong going. Would it not be in Her Majesty's Government's interest if the new ruling force in Hong Kong contained a substantial element of British citizens still main- taining their ties with UK?

6.

My own view is that the relationship to the Crown of all the officers referred to in para 1 is so direct and their loyalty to the Crown of such overriding importance that we

include thom specifically (along with UMELCO members) under the provisions referred to in para 70 of the White Paper. I would mention in passing that at the time

/they

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