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The
Counsellor, four First Secretaries and a Second Secretary. Mission also has a sizeable Consular/Visa Section consisting of
12 staff (five UK-based and seven locally-engaged).
C. Staff Welfare
Tour length 3 x 12 months (2 x 12 months for junior staff). of the problems for officers in Peking relates to the Chinese Government's decision to prohibit the employment of spouses outside the Diplomatic Missions. This, combined with the relative isolation of Peking and sub-standard accommodation, affects morale.
There is an RAF nurse in Peking who runs the Embassy clinic. Any difficult or emergency medical cases are referred to Hong Kong.
D.
Accommodation: Offices and Residential
(i) All accommodation is leased from the Diplomatic
Service Bureau (DSB).
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
One
The office building is in a 1 acre compound held on a three year lease at £66,000 pa. It is shared by the British Council who need more space. Consideration is being given to further building on the compound. If this is not possible we may need to lease or build elsewhere.
The Ambassador's Residence is a pleasant two storey building rented at a cost of £20,000 pa occupying a 1 acre site adjoining the office compound.
The residential accommodation consists of 59 staff flats in foreigners' enclaves comprising unappealing and poorly built blocks. They suffer internally from poor layout and low standard of workmanship and we are about to embark on a programme of kitchen refurbishment. Senior staff are relatively more cramped than junior staff: we are considering how best to improve their accommodation for the longer term.
The Post is well served with officially provided amenities including a swimming pool, tennis courts, squash court, club room and a multi-purpose hall.
T28AAB
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