FCS/92/058
CHIEF SECRETARY
CONFIDENTIAL
HILD X; P's
18thorzi Caithnen
PS/PUS
دشان ) SirT
Mr Burns
Mr Mour
Mr Kerby ODA Mr Fishi
Hong Kong HMOCS
ODA
FED
تسونا
A 132 pa.pl
Bu
Ligai iduse Liz Greaves
ان
11/3/92
川
1. Thank you for your letter of 4 March.
Pensions
125
2. We are still far apart on sterling safeguards. Let me again place my position on record. It remains my view that HMG are under an obligation to ensure that the sterling value of Hong Kong HMOCS officers' pensions is safeguarded after 1997. In previous cases where the government of the territory concerned was unable to provide such a safeguard because the territory was too poor, HMG stepped in: it was right in these cases to handle HMG's contribution as an aid
measure. In the case of Hong Kong the government of the territory may be unable to provide such a safeguard because of insuperable political obstacles: if so HMG must step in here too, though, given Hong Kong's economic position (confirmed by last week's budget speech), clearly not as an aid measure.
3. We agree that we must resolve the inequitable operation of SPOS regulations for Hong Kong HMOCS pensioners. However I cannot accept that this would be a sufficient solution to
the sterling safeguard problem. It is true that in
JIFABG/1
CONFIDENTIAL
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