TNAG-2686-FCO40-3888-Hong-Kong-Her-Majesty-s-Overseas-Civil-Service-(HMOCS)-poli-1993 — Page 107

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ERMENT HOUSE HONG KONG.

FRI 30 APR 93 09:17

CONFIDENTIAL & PERSONAL

PG.04

THE ASSOCIATION OF MEMBERS OF HER MAJESTY * 3 OVERSEAS CIVIL SERVICE IN HONG KONG

31st Floor Revenue Tower

5 Gloucester Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong

28 April 1993

Mr M J C Walers

Civil Service Branch

Government Secretariat

HONG KONG

Dear Mike,

T din

TICE further forward.

text

JO

HMOCS Arrangements

afraid your letter of 22 April 1993 takes us As you know, we have been led to believe for months that a decision was imminent and could be expected EOON. The Committee's credibility with the membership is

The beginning to wear extremely thin. HOW your letter docs nothing to help us counter the arguments of the growing number of members who are coming to believe that we are just being strung along and that HMG is preparing το ael dishonourably. Why else would the Prime Minister himself have been unable 1.0 endorse straightforward peckage in accordance with clearly established practice cat oul ja British Government policy documents published in the fifties and sixties and honoured in fifty or so other dependent territories?

We

Before the Governor'S recent visit to London the Committee had advised the membership, as you were well aware at The time, that we had been given to understand that a decision from London was imminent and that we hoped 1.0 be able to call a general meeting to consider the expected proposal probably before the end of April.

It is ΠΟΥ clear trom your let Ler that a decision has not been taken and

hu not even have a time frame for one. The Commillee is now likely to be pushed into holding a general meeting sometime in May and if that happens without a proposal from London on the table, membert' patience is likely to snap. This could result in a much more activist and aggressive committec that would pursue the subject through all possible channels in UK regardless of the undesirablc publicity thai That might gcncrate for the administration in Hug Kong. Once the genie is out of the bottle it will be very difficult, if not impossible, to act it back in again.

CONFIDENTIAL

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