TNAG-1521-FCO40-2082-Commonwealth-War-Graves-Commission-in-Hong-Kong-1986 — Page 20

From P R MATTHEW, Deputy Director-General

My reference: EXT 4/161

Mr J N Powell

Hong Kong Department Foreign and Commonwealth Whitehall

London SW1 (WH)

Dew Mr Powell

Reg.

Kerts

rtr w/ eadier

COMMONWEALTH WAR GRAVES COMMISSION

2 MARLOW ROAD

MAIDENHEAD BERKSHIRE SL6 7DX

Hnn 22511 нии

RECEIVED IN REGISTRY

1 1 JUN 1986

DESK OFFICER

INDEX

PA

HONG KONG FUTURE CWGC ARRANGEMENTS

1.

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Telephone: 0628 34221

21 May 1986

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Since I wrote to you on 16 January acknowledged by your letter of 11 February one of our senior staff has visited Hong Kong where he had discussions with, among others, the Director of Urban Services (which provides day to day supervision of our work in Hong Kong) and his Deputy and Mr Edward Johnson, Senior Crown Counsel, and Mr Anthony To, Senior Counsel, Special Duties Unit.

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2. They covered the issue mentioned in paragraph 2 of my previous letter to you, CWGC relations with DUS, and we have now replaced the 1954 exchange of letters with DUS with a letter setting out in revised form the current arrangements between DUS and ourselves. When DUS confirms the content of that letter, the final sentence of paragraph 15 of the note sent with my letter of 16 January can be amended.

3.

More importantly the discussions touched on arrangements for the post 1997 period. There was general agreement on two lines of thought. The first was that the Public Health and Urban Services Ordinance so far as it affected the Commission should be amended and that a new Ordinance related solely to the Commission might in fact be introduced. This would deal with the sort of point referred to in paragraph 3 of my previous letter by giving the Commission a more direct status. In some ways it was felt that a natural progression from there would be a war graves agreement which could be rather more comprehensive and that failing any such agreement the "CWGC Ordinance" would go some way to establishing a post 1997 position for the Commission. For the moment and certainly until we know just what could be written into such an agreement - we still regard an agreement as our preferred long term aim.

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4. The second line of thought related to the tenure of the land forming the two war cemeteries. The present position is referred to in paragraph 9 of our draft note. Deeds of Appropriation,