TNAG-2687-FCO40-3889-Hong-Kong-Her-Majesty-s-Overseas-Civil-Service-(HMOCS)-poli-1993 — Page 33

HKA -2331,

SMENT HOUSE HUNG KONG,

FRI 30 HPR #3 09:17

CONFIDENTIAL &

PERSONAL

THE ASSOCIATION OF MEMBERÐ UF HER MAJESTY' 3 OVERSEAS CIVIL SERVICE IN HONG KONG

31st Floor Revenue Tower

5 Gloucester Road, Wanchal, Hong Kong

PG.04

28 April 1993

Mr M J C Waters

Civil Service Branch

Government Secretariāt

HONG KONG

Dear Mike

HMOCS Arrangements

T du afraid your letter of 22 April 1993 takes us TICS further forward. As you know, we have been led to believe for monthc that a decision was imminent and could be expected soon.

The Committee's credibility with the membership is HOW beginning to wear extremely thin. The text of your letter docs nothing to help us counter the arguments of the growing number of members who are coming believe that we are just being strung along and that HMG preparing το act dishonourably. Why else would the Prime Minister himself have been unable

to endorse straightforward package in accordance with Clearly established practice set oul ja British Government policy documents published in the fifties and sixties and honoured in fifty or so other dependent territories?

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2efore the Governor 5 recent visit to London the Committee had advised the membership, as you were well awarc at the time, that we had been given to understand that a decision from London was imminent and that we hoped

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able to call a general meeting to consider the expected proposal probably before the end of April. It is now clcar from Your letter that a decision has not beers taken and We hu not even have a time frame for one. The Committee 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, memberc' patience is likely το cnap. This could result in a much more activist and aggressive committee that would pursue the subject

in through all possible channels

UK regardless of the undesirable publicity that That might generate for tha administration in Hony Kong. Once the genio is out of the bottle it will be very difficult, if not impossible, to act it back in again.

CONFIDENTIAL

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