TNAG-1874-FCO40-2665-Relations-between-Hong-Kong-and-other-British-Dependent-Terr-1989 — Page 102

people, the debate became

more and more anxious. The debate seems to have gone on spasmodically, but the position and the measures taken seem to have changed but little.

8. May I

perhaps

presume

not

to offer

least because

a unique

for

responsible

into insight

these matters

in the mid-70s in Hong Kong I was

of FCO

grading (in Hong Kong terms)

officers whom we employed on secondment.

a number

I well

Fco

し

impassioned FCO arguments to upgrade the Political

remember

Adviser

in Hong Kong from DS4 to DS3, which my government and I personally

did not accept. It was not until the early 80s that we agreed to upgrade the post to DS3, bringing it into line with Secretaries, Hong Kong, of which we then had 14. They mostly served as

Ministers as well as Permanent Secretaries, of course.

9.

I was godze startled during the FCO

last year to realise how little the

of what а Governor actually has to do.

with that, because you know.

10.

I

was one from 1973.

Inspection in Cayman

Inspectors understood

I will not bore you

Why has fronot faced 40 sowed this prosten?

(a) too small - Megbeit

"Thot sexy" so away

Over 30 years, I have come to see What the difference

between the Diplomatic Service

administrator.

The DS officer,

is not wai plowed to

the

6

"Colonial"

(5) lack i (c) the

undist due to o or belich ads Dj

for ind

r

can do

(c) unwr

rekler

Officers and

because he is posted every

three years or so, cannot develop a reat commitment to a country and its people; he is an observer, a reporter, and cannot reasonably hope to be much more. This also means that there is insufficient any

continuity; and the people of a Dependent Territory see DS

Vien

to take. officers as transients, and usually mix up the names of his po

Ne predecessor and successor with his.

The DS officer during

directly his career probably does not have to administer a small, let

along a large body of men; he does not have

administer

over a period of years the career development of a wide variety

of people, often in the context

of expatriate versus local. He can afford

he probably must avoid-too deep a relationship

with the local political and community figures. He is dens

aware that his children when they are of age will go back

to the UK to school, at the UK

UK is where he belongs; and that

is how the local community sees him.

cannot realistically hope for better.

not

-

close

He is a

to

transient,

/11.

and