TNAG-1821-FCO40-2584-Emigration-from-Hong-Kong-1988 — Page 49

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1

G.FO. Box 2790

TELEPHONE: 5-255044

FAY

.: 5-8452915

19 July 1988

The Secretary of Foreign Affairs

-WELLINGTON

(NAD ECO SEA EIB)

LAUG 1988

:

London

Peking

B67125

NEW ZEALAND COMMISSION

3414 CONNAUG

HỌNG B

ENTRE

94/1/1 66/2/1

HKD

he bett

Seoul Tokyo

Singapore

Office of Minister of

State

HONG KONG EDUCATION AND THE BRAIN DRAIN

Your memorandum of 8 July asks for elaboration on the point made by

Hon Willie Purves to Hon Jonathan Hunt when }) in Hong Kong last month about а link between the 1997 Brain Drain and shortcomings in tertiary education in the territo Our memorandum 25/3/1 of 7 June 1988 refers.

2 You ask whether these shortcomings will act as an impuda ment to Hong Kong competing successfully against Taiwan Korea as the NICs continue to advance into 'hi-tech' manuiac. turing and export; and about the implications of inadequate higher education for Hong Kong's future as a cohesive soly with sufficient culture and identity to remain stable the unchartered waters from 1997 onwards.

3

Difficult questions. Since receiving Our

memora

in

you will have had Our report 66/2/1 of 7 June cover.j copy of а detailed brief on 'The market in Hong Kou overseas education' prepared for the Market Development Board by Tradecom Hong Kong; and Our memorandum 92/1/1 of 12 Tuly on the 1997 Brain Drain generally and the implications of it for New Zealand's Business Immigration Policy in parti- cular. The Tradecom Hong Kong report is both comprehensive and instructive. It contains the factual information to support Purves' contention about the lack of quality upper- secondary and tertiary education in Hong Kong.

4

In sum,

our response to your questions is that:

Hong Kong's senior secondary and has serious shortcomings;

tertiary education

difficult poly

Hong Kong is facing particularly

problems in education generally;

there is a link between educational problems and the Brain Drain;

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