TNAG-1782-FCO40-2542-Hong-Kong-births--marriages-and-deaths-Guardianship-of-Mino-1988 — Page 39

Sile

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Foreign and Commonwealth Office

London SW1A 2AH

R Wilson Esq

Ceneral Duties Branch

Government Secretariat

HONG KONG

Telephone 01- 270 2656

HKC 223

/

Our reference

Your reference

MTZABP

Datel1 April 1988

2

Dear BB Wilrom.

SAR BIRTH, MARRIAGE AND DEATH CERTIFICATES

1.

I understand the current practice in Hong Kong is that birth, marriage and death certificates may be obtained in English and Chinese. At some stage it will be necessary to decide whether this practice should continue beyond 1997. Although it is true that after 1 July 1997 the British Consulate General in the SAR will be able to issue British birth and death certificates on the basis of local ones, it is by no means certain that all British nationals resident in the SAR will wish to purchase British certificates. To have these documents only in Chinese may cause difficulties if people subsequently found they had need of them outside China. In short, it would be preferable for the present bilingual practice to continue.

2.

This seems an appropriate point to be covered specifically in the JLG. If you agree, perhaps you could add it to the next edition of the Joint Declaration Checklist (with a suitable priority) under, I suggest, reference to JD1 on the use of both Chinese and English by the organs of government.

Yours ever

f

Graham Lan

G H Leicester

Hong Kong Department

ee H.D. Marcelin, NTD

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