SIR David Akers-Jones recently returned from Beijing announcing that, amongst other things, he discussed ''the morale of the Hongkong civil service'' with the Communist Party leadership. I have been a Hongkong civil servant for the past 26 years and I am sure that my own civil service staff association has not authorised, requested or agreed to this dubious initiative. Sir David is a retired Chief Secretary with extensive connections in the local business community and the representatives of the indigenous population of the New Territories. He may justifiably claim to represent these interests, but he has not been elected to a District Board, Regional Council, the Urban Council or the Legislative Council, by either of these groups, nor yet by the civil service as a whole within the Governor's proposed new functional constituency. By making this public announcement, he is presumably trying to give the impression to the Hongkong population that the whole of the Hongkong civil service has a ''1997'' morale problem, that the Hongkong Government is either unable or unwilling to do anything about it and that the Communist Party leadership in Beijing can. No doubt he believes sincerely in what he has done and intends to do. But he doesn't have my mandate and never will. Nor do I believe that he has the mandate of the majority of the Hongkong civil service, and he should put it to the test by standing for ejection (sic) at the first opportunity, along with all his political bed-fellows. I personally hope the 1995 ''fair, open and acceptable'' elections, will at long last rid us of all those people who claim to know better than the rest of us but will not put their credibility or acceptability to the ultimate acid election test. I look forward to the Legco debate on the Governor's proposals. It should be interesting, to say the least. It may be that ''through trains'' to China post-June 30, 1997 will only carry these same re-appointed members, but in the meantime, let's give Hongkong people the chance to elect their own representatives. Hongkong has become my home, my wife is Chinese and my children were born and fully educated here. I believe that what the post-June 1989 British Government and Governor are trying to do within the constraints of the ''non-amendable'' Basic Law is both honourable and proper. It will soon be up to Hongkong people, through Legco, to have the final say. So be it. We have been through worse before. When some political observers say that Anglo-Chinese relations are at their worst in recent history, they are conveniently forgetting the events of the Korean War and the Cultural Revolution. I believe that Hongkong and China and their industrious people have a great future, and the enlightened new generation of both cultures will eventually prevail. With still a few years to go before I can join Sir David in retirement, I regret that I mustsimply be. NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED
