TNAG-1299-FCO40-1655-Visit-by-Sir-Geoffrey-Howe--Secretary-of-State-for-Foreign-a-1984 — Page 167

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RECEIVEO IN REGISTRY

16 APR 1984

BACK CHLOER

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subj

JAN

Private Secretary

CONFIDENTIAL

242

See (243

Stand of State

FROM: R D CLIFT,HKD DATE: 10 April 1984

cc: PS/Mr Luce

SECRETARY OF STATE'S VISIT TO HONG KONG

PROBLEM

Dr Wilson

Is thermally no time for a short mity?

1.

A letter from the Staff side Secretary of the Senior Civil Service Council asking if Staff side members could meet the Secretary of State during his forthcoming visit to Hong Kong.

RECOMMENDATION

2. I recommend that the Private Secretary reply through the Governor on the lines of the attached draft.

BACKGROUND AND ARGUMENT

•

The Senior Civil Service Council in Hong Kong is a consultative body which is chaired by the Secretary for the Civil Service and which consists of representatives from three Staff Associations - the Association of Expatriate Civil Servants, the Senior Non-Expatriate Officers Association and the Hong Kong Chinese Civil Servants Association.

4.

Over the past 18 months there has been a great deal of uncertainty among Hong Kong civil servants. Despite this, individuals and staff associations have behaved with considerable restraint and responsibility. While they have made their views known privately to visiting Ministers and MPs, they have taken care to avoid the sort of publicity that would be damaging to local confidence or to the stability and prosperity of the territory.

5. The main areas of concern for civil servants are:

(a)

What will happen to Hong Kong in 1997, and the prospect of living in a territory, however autonomous that is, subject to the sovereignty of a communist regime;

The security of their jobs in 1997 if they seek to stay in the government service;

(b)

(c)

The security of their pension rights;

(d)

(Particularly for those in sensitive jobs, such as Special Branch) to what extent HMG will recognise an obligation towards Crown servants who do not wish to stay in Hong Kong after 1997, by granting British citizenship or otherwise assisting them to take up residence elsewhere.

CONFIDENTIAL

/6.