THOSE who fancy a peek into the world of James Bond-style espionage will not find it in the newly derestricted Hong Kong government security regulations.
There is nothing about TOP SECRET documents being protected by exploding briefcases, and the only licence to kill may be a permit to cut down trees to make paper - lots of trees.
'If people were looking for something more interesting they won't find it,' said Andrew Kluth, Principal Assistant Secretary for Security, who believes much classified information is 'quite dull'.
Some of the rules relate to the classification of documents, define the 'need to know' principle, and how to handle requests by courts for government employees to give evidence, stating the test is whether disclosure in court 'would cause damage to the proper functioning of the public service or would in any other way be contrary to the public interest'.
The bulk of the regulations numbered 100 to 339 are full of rules on paperwork, and read more like good news for the stationery industry than a spy manual, with detailed pages on record keeping.
Some even seem a little obvious. For instance, regulation 255 warns those handling classified material that someone may look through their window.
