TNAG-1521-FCO40-2082-Commonwealth-War-Graves-Commission-in-Hong-Kong-1986 — Page 23

From P R MATTHEW, Deputy Director-General

per

tur. noted. 17/3

COMMONWEALTH WAR GRAVES COMMISSION

2 MARLOW ROAD

MAIDENHEAD BERKSHIRE SL6 7DX

Telephone: 0628 34221

in

1213

My reference: EXT 4/161

16 January 1986

Mr J Powell

Hong Kong Department

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Whitehall

London SW1 (WH)

MKK 225/

RECEIVED IN REGISTRY

Dear Mr Powell

INDEX

13 MAR 1986

DEGINTAY

Action Taken

HONG KONG

-

FUTURE CWGC ARRANGEMENTS

1.

As you will know Peter Swan has now retired and Roger Dalley as Director of Secretariat with overall responsibility for our external relations work has taken over from him with Henry McKay as Senior External Relations Officer. As I have also been involved I am forwarding the promised note setting out our present position in Hong Kong and making proposals as to the future arrange- ments. We have, as Peter Swan discussed with you, given our first option as a war graves agreement. If we are advised against this (and that was the Governor's initial reaction) then we would value FCO advice on what alternative arrangements we could pursue in order to achieve the same objectives as set out in para 11 of the enclosed note.

2.

I should mention two side issues. In para 15 the note refers to letters exchanged with the Director of Urban Services (DUS) in Hong Kong. This was done in 1954 and the detailed content of those letters is now somewhat out of date. We shall discuss with DUS in Hong Kong whether there might be a fresh exchange recording more closely the current position.

3. The second issue relates to 1977 Rules and the Ordinance (Cap 132) under which the Rules were made. While we foresee no problem under either while the present regime in Hong Kong remains, there are some changes particularly to the Ordinance which we may want to suggest against the time when the new order comes into being. For instance the Ordinance provides that the general management and control of any CWGC cemetery shall be vested in the Authority, namely DUS. We can accept this with the present DUS and under the present set-up but it could prove to be an unacceptable provision at some future time.

4.

These sort of matters we shall also take up with the Hong Kong authorities and it could be necessary to take the outcome into account in deciding on the eventual form of overall arrangements - ie war graves agreement or something less which would be acceptable.

Enc

Your sincerely

Thinking Mathew