CLUBS
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6. In case anyone gets the wrong idea, I think your paragraph 5 needs a little expansion. Of the four clubs for which I was seeking membership, one is in fact the British Business Group in Taiwan which is a sort of poor man's Chamber of Commerce and involves nothing more than a monthly lunchtime meeting. The First Formosa Golf Club is so expensive that I would not expect the FCO to meet the entrance fee but I am still hopeful of winkling a VIP honorary membership out of the Foreign Ministry, in which case I would only face green fees. The Bankers Club, which is an oak - panelled dungeon, have waived most of the charges, other than the $NT 50,000 refundable deposit and a small monthly due. This leaves the American Club in China as the only serious club providing any sort of recreation, it is excellent by Taiwanese standards; it would not pass muster in any normal expatriate enviroment but we are grateful for it and now have full membership. Incidentally, the Bankers Club has no facilities other than dining and drinking. It is a place to be seen and has no recreational value whatsoever.
all too
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CARS/TAX
7. The French have had at least four tax exempt cars. I have no doubt that we shall be asked for reciprocity but that this will not necessarily exclude us from getting exemption on cars here. The matter is getting slightly urgent as the office Sterling is now showing alarming signs of wear and tear but we cannot really advance the case until we know if we are going for tax exemption or not.
ATTC OFFICE
8. Your conparision with others is, I think, a very fair assessment, given the limits to your visit. I shall in fact be bidding for a full time expatriate LE DS7 equivalent, a part time LE!!! confidential secretary and a full time LEIll accountant plus some possible temporary DS9 help. This is being put together in a seperate letter to RMD.
9. The problem of lack of ability to consult with others is a real one. My visits to Hong Kong take on an added importance against this background.
10. To complete the picture, you should know that the Australians will shortly be headed up by the equivalent of a DS senior grade with a total of 8 Canberra based staff comprising 3 Trade, 3 Foreign Affairs and 2 immigration.
LANGUAGE STUDENTS
11. The Australians also use Taiwan and the DCM at AIT told me that they find their language students an invaluable source of additional information about the country. Given AITS U.S based staffing of around 100, you can imagine the advantages I would find in having FCO language students continuing to study here! All of the students in the current year have told me that they found that training in Taiwan both useful and enjoyable as it allowed them far greater access to ordinary Chinese than would have been the case in Peking. It seems to me a thorougly sensible policy to retain at least some FCO language students here so that future senior members of the Service dealing with Chinese affairs have some first hand knowledge of Taiwan against which to view our overall policy. The problem with our Sinologues is that, by and large, none of them has any experience of Taiwan and perhaps view it in an overhostile way which might not be the case if they had actually spent time here.
12. For the record, this office would be very happy to administer language students to whatever extent is required and would certainly ensure they were involved in the post's activities to the extent that their studies allowed this.
COMMUNICATIONS
13. The FAXLOK is better than nothing but may, eventually, cost me my sanity. It may, in fact, have been interfered with since getting things through, certainly first time, is a time consuming
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