they are not.
in
Furthermore,
whereas (a) locally resident pensioners enjoy the benefit of China's pricing policy and (b) expatriate pensioners who retired prior to 1976 (or, practice, apparently, prior to 1978) are eligible - which it is difficult to understand, except in terms of
for reasons
misplaced generosity, that is to say, a Whitehall cock-up
under the old rules tor exchange rate cover and (net) cost of living adjustments based on the UK CPI, those expatriated
since 1976/79 have seen pensioners who retired (and returned)
in the the value of their pensions eroded by the steady decline cross rate with sterling as the linked system has dragged the
it Hong Kong dollar down with the US dollar. Be all that as may, issue (1) is for the Hong Kong Government: no one is questioning the Hong Kong Government's right to pursue an exchange rate policy deemed to be in the Colony's perceived best interests but, equally, the Hong Kong Government cannot escape responsibility for any side consequences of that policy.
As regards (2): this is OSPA's concern and,
but given HMO's commendable record in almost all other cases not quite all if one remembers the treatment of Central African authority Federation pensioners - when the Secretary of State's has been withdrawn (on independence), our
(on independence), our erstwhile colleagues, in my opinion, are making heavy weather of it (the probable validity of their arguments in paragraphs 2 3 of Lord Grey's letter to Lord Glenarthur of 6 June last notwithstanding). most of them enjoy the protection of the old SPOS rules, not really appreciate the present fate of their more recently retired brethren, except to the extent that it provides them with further leverage to assist them in their campaign for earl * Whether that judgment premature) action on' issue (2).
(i
4
"
fair or not, issue (2) is for HMG.
*
ፉት ።።
they do
As regards (3):'this is the largest issue of
al! I suppose, but how seriously one takes it depends on whether or not one takes the view that the SAR Government can be regarded as a truly successor, government to the colonial governmerit
i
(3) 11es
I shan't hazard a guess as to where ownership of
7.
*
So, issue (1)
ncerns
is all that concerns us just now and J think it is most unfair that so-called @politicalð difficulties should make everyone so nervous about tackling it. It is true that we have conspired over the years to a gradual erosion of the status and, theretore, of the treatment required have of the special circumstances of expatriate officers and we also been very blind as to the implications of some so-called @reforms of our terms of service.
(Perhaps the most notorious example of what I am talking about was the introduction of the non-standard passage whereby we prostituted
The proper the whole concept of the leave passage as such.
to enable and defensible purpose of the leave passage, namely, expatriate officeřs to return whence they came from time to
was brushed aside in favour of enabling expatriate officer.
time
S
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