THE top positions in the Security Branch must be among the posts most unwanted by local officers. Traditionally, apart from the Political Adviser's Office, the Security Branch deals with the most sensitive issues in the Government, with a pile of files stamped 'for British eyes only' and locked up in its safe.
The team of secretaries and deputy secretaries has always been exclusively British. In a couple of divisions, such as the one handling defence issues, and the assessment and government security division, even the junior positions are the preserve of expatriates.
It was not until early this year that changes began to take place with the appointment of Peter Lai Hing-ling as the first local secretary for security.
The move was a necessary step in planning for a civil service through-train in 1997, as under the Basic Law all principal officials - the head of Security Branch included - should be Chinese nationals without the right of abode in any foreign country.
But the Government's present localisation plan goes further than what's required in the Basic Law, so that even the senior deputy and junior deputy posts are scheduled to be localised before year's end.
A key consideration in filling the deputy posts with locals arises from the Basic Law requirement as well. The Government's understanding of the Basic Law is that even when the secretary is a local, when he or she is on leave the officer sitting in for the chief will have to be a local and, under normal circumstances, would be the deputy secretary.
Another practical consideration is obviously out of practical need to groom enough locals to handle security issues to give the Civil Service Branch more choice in the future.
