TNAG-2923-FCO40-4198-Visits-and-proposed-visits-by-Alastair-Goodlad--Minister-of--1993 — Page 55

5 October 1993

John Luk Esq

Chairman

The Senior Non-Expatriate

Officers Association

Room G13

Central Government Offices

East Wing, Ground Floor

Lower Albert Road

Hong Kong

A

Foreign & Commonwealth

Office

London SWIA 2AH

pa

HKA 016/1

993

Mh while

6/10

$

70%

Dear to Lab.

Thank you for your letter of 20 September about Localisation Policy in the Hong Kong Civil Service.

I am very much aware that the recent change to the Hong Kong Government's localisation policy has generated some concern among members of your Association in Hong Kong. This is essentially a policy matter for the Hong Kong Government, but I hope I can allay some of your concerns by explaining the reasons for the change and why it would be wrong to exaggerate its significance.

Previously, the Hong Kong Government's policy allowed overseas persons who had taken up residence in Hong Kong to join the Civil Service on local terms but, if they had been employed on overseas terms in the first instance, they could not subsequently change to local terms. Officers on overseas terms who had been resident in Hong Kong for a number of years and had made Hong Kong their home, considered that this

The Hong Kong Government agreed that a policy was unfair. policy which prevented them from acquiring local status after appointment, was unnecessarily rigid, given the concept of permanent residence contained in the Immigration Ordinance, Close examination also showed as well as in the Basic Law. that the policy could not be successfully defended in court.

This interim measure does not indicate any lack of determination on the part of the Hong Kong Government to

Indeed, the implement fully the localisation policy.

proportion of officers in directorate ranks has decreased to

less than