Chief Clerk
PS/PUS
FAR EASTERN POSTS
RESTRICTED
FROM:
C W LONG
027/17
DATE:
15 June 1987
26
cc: Mr Gillmore
Mr McLaren
Mr Tomkys
Heads of:
FED
HKD
At Cars Den
POD
PPD
ik
-Л
- 6th 19/6
PSD Security D
o Sute
Corr 16%
1.
I visited Peking, Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong between 3 and 11 June: a short but vivid experience of four very different places. I met most of our people at the four Posts and had a good look at their living and other conditions. I am minuting separately on details, but here are some general impressions.
2.
Our Posts are well-staffed and pretty stretched, and conditions not always easy, but people were in good heart. I heard no direct complaints about individual hardship. Accommodation was sometimes a problem: but the main worry was undoubtedly the remoteness from home. Peking and Shanghai have annual leave, and from Hong Kong you can get to London on scheduled flights for under £400 return. But from Tokyo the cheapest fare is £1000 return, and people feel very "fenced-in", not least because of the horrendous traffic jams which regularly defeat even the ingenious Japanese.
3. In the rambling Embassy in Peking I found Sir Richard Evans and Mr Peter Thomson, Head of Chancery, battling with help from the Inspectors to pull together the various strands of their disparate team. China offers targets as vast and much more accessible than I had expected. The younger Chinese-speaking officers have splendid opportunities. Security concerns are mainly below the surface but no less a worry for that. The Embassy has tennis, swimming and now squash facilities, a gregarious club and a much- appreciated clinic. Accommodation is poor, and has been neglected, but the new Administration Officer, Mr David Harris, has made valiant and successful efforts to upgrade furnishings. One or two of the latest group of new arrivals have had a hesitant start in this strange place but now appear to be settling in. I was struck by the utter quiet of Peking at night.
4. I spent 24 hours in Shanghai, a massively bustling southern city. Opportunities for westerners are still very restricted, but developing almost as you watch.
5. In Tokyo, the Embassy is clearly engaged very effectively in dealing with its multifarious Japanese contacts and producing much high grade reporting. After the recent inspection the staffing seems right. Some detailed changes on the consular/administration side still needed sorting out. The new office building is progressing with impressive speed. Our compound in central Tokyo
/needs
RESTRICTED
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