Hong Kong (Hansard, 24 February 1994)

§ Mr. Parry
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many retired Chinese civil servants were resident in Hong Kong at the latest available date; and if he will make a statement.

§ Mr. Goodlad
There are approximately 38,000 retired Hong Kong Government civil servants living in Hong Kong. There is no indication of any exodus of these pensioners away from Hong Kong.

§ Mr. Parry
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many retired Chinese civil servants are expected to be resident in Hong Kong in 1997.

§ Mr. Goodlad
Of the current 41,000 Hong Kong Government pensioners, 38,000 are living in Hong Kong. It is expected that most of those living in Hong Kong will remain after 1997. There will also be a few thousand more who retire between now and 1997.

§ Mr. Parry
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the agreement with China over the question of pensions which will be paid to retired Chinese civil servants resident in Hong Kong in 1997.

§ Mr. Goodlad
Annex 1 to the Sino-British joint declaration of 1984 provides that pensions will continue to be paid after 1997 on terms no less favourable than before. This guarantee is repeated in article 102 of the Basic Law.

§ Mr. Parry
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will agree to supply the names and addresses of retired Chinese civil servants to the Hong Kong Civil Service Association.

§ Mr. Goodlad
In the light of article 14 of the Hong Kong Bill of Rights 1991 on protection of privacy and the Hong Kong Government's guidelines on protection of personal data, it is not possible to pass the names and addresses of retired civil servants to a civil service pensioners' association. However, the Hong Kong Government will pass on any information which an association wishes to convey to pensioners.