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SCMP Reporter

THE Chinese Government has stepped up its efforts to find potential candidates to fill the principal positions in the first government of the Special Administrative Region (SAR).

  Headhunting by Xinhua (the New China News Agency), which represents the Beijing Government in the territory, began in earnest after the collapse of talks between Britain and China on Hong Kong's political development.

  Xinhua has been inviting senior Chinese civil servants at and above the staff grade B (D3) - deputy secretaries and principal assistants - to dinner.

  It is known that former civil servants such as Wilfred Wong Ying-wai are acting as middlemen in arranging the meetings.

  Mr Wong, who had served in the government for 17 years, resigned several years ago and is now the deputy chief executive of the K Wah Group.

  He has been acting as a Hong Kong Affairs Adviser to the Chinese Government.

  Xinhua officials attending the dinner parties are said to be quite plain about their intentions, urging senior civil servants to prepare for the fact that they will no longer work for the British administration in three years' time.

  One staff member said he felt humiliated when the Xinhua officials he met described his role as having ''served the British Government'' for all his years in the administration.

  ''When I joined the Government, I only considered it as a good and secure job. I have never considered myself as serving the British administration. I serve the Hong Kong people,'' he said.

  He said he and his colleagues were asked over dinner where their loyalty lay.

  The easy - and truthful - answer had been that they supported the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law, he said.

  The mainland co-convener of the political sub-group of the Preliminary Working Committee, Professor Xiao Weiyun, said last week that there was now no way for the Chinese and British governments to discuss the appointments of principal officials for the first SAR government.

  Professor Xiao said the chief executive-designate of the SAR would name candidates for the principal posts before the changeover to ensure that the SAR government could be formed on July 1, 1997.

  Under the Basic Law, the 22 principal officials should not have a foreign passport. Senior civil servants, however, are among those given passports under the British Nationality package as an inducement for them to stay with the Government.

  During their dinners, Xinhua officials give civil servants the residential number of vice-director Mao Junnian and tell them to call if they have any ''queries''.

  It is understood that one of the ''queries'' is what to do about their British passports.

  Another senior civil servant said he perceived the dinner meetings as a way for both sides to get to know each other.

  ''It is very obvious why they want to know us. We understand and they understand that we will be the main officials running the future SAR government,'' he said.

  ''It is also a process to give us confidence. During the meeting, they reassured us that there is no need to worry since they would want us to continue our service with the Government.

  ''This kind of contact is understandable and is positive.''   One of those who knew of the meetings but had not yet been invited said he did not need such people as Mr Wong to give him the chance to prove himself capable of being promoted to senior positions.

  ''I have worked for the Government for more than 20 years.

  ''Isn't that track record sufficient to show my ability and potential? Why should I need somebody like him to arrange meetings with Xinhua officials? It is just ridiculous,'' he said.



Xinhua woos civil servants for SAR