TNAG-1782-FCO40-2542-Hong-Kong-births--marriages-and-deaths-Guardianship-of-Mino-1988 — Page 31

CONFIDENTIAL

布政司署

香港下亞畢道

* Our Ref :

SGD 5/08/1

* YOUR Ref :

G. H. Leicester Esq.

Foreign and Commonwealth

Hong Kong Department

Dean NW. Leiccoter:

HKC ZZ3

23/1

Office

Miss Grier

10/5

Pl.

By Bag 8

GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT

LOWER ALBERT ROAD

HONG KONG

4 May 1988

Consult, fi foor, thier.

diy art eps & discuss.

ewi-

Thank you

for your letter of 11 April 1988 to Bob Wilson. Since this matter falls within the responsibility of my Division in General Duties Branch, has asked me to consider and reply.

he

We agree that there will be a need in due course/ to consider the language used in the certificates you have identified. Indeed we think that there will be a need to consider the wider question of the form (including language) of all government documents (including certificates in question) before 1997. for the Checklist could be:

the

A suitable item

"Consider changes in form of government issued documents certificates, licences, etc"

on

inserted immediately after a similar existing item Government uniforms, badges and chops (item (f) of the General Section).

Bearing in mind that (a) all we would wish to achieve in this field is the continuation of current government practice, (b) the SARG would have autonomy in deciding the form of its

form of its own documents and (c) the Basic Law would

would clearly

clearly permit

permit both

both the use of Chinese and English on such documents, we see no need to raise this issue in the JLG either in general terms or with specific reference to the form of Birth, Marriage and Death your letter has look at the Official Languages Ordinance

Certificates. On prompted us to

a

related point,

which provides for English and Chinese to have equal status. This might be a candidate for future 'adaptation' in the light of Article 9 of the draft Basic Law which implies that Chinese has some formal precedence over

which English

"may also be used by the executive authorities ...

TI

Grateful for your comments please.

Yous

St.

(Stanley Ying)

for Secretary (General Duties)

0540P

CONFIDENTIAL