who are asked to retire early.
Although the majority of HMOCS
of
staff will be able to continue to serve the SAR Government they
will cease to be regarded as serving members of HMOCS on 1 July
1997. We accept that the loss
the Secretary of State's
protection would be of concern and we would expect in due course
to provide some financial recognition of this change in the nature
of their employment come 1997.
On the question of the oath of allegiance to Her Majesty the
Queen, it will clearly be inappropriate for this to continue after
1997. Finally, on the question of the Chinese Ministry of State
Security having access to government records, I can assure
Mr McIntyre that this will not be the case.
As the Joint
Declaration makes clear, the Hong Kong SAR Government will be
composed of local inhabitants. The laws currently in place which
protect individuals' rights in these matters will remain and will
be strengthened by the passing into law of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. For any government to
function properly for its civil servants, it must have records of
the personnel it employs and their families. Action is being
taken to ensure that the records of the Hong Kong Government will
be sufficient and appropriate to allow the SAR Government to
function properly.
I hope all this will be of some reassurance to Mr McIntyre and his
colleagues. We are certainly not insensitive to their concerns
and will continue to keep all these matters under careful review,
in consultation with the Hong Kong Government.
4.
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