hong kong anyone dig hong kong history official archive might place look office chief executive hong kong leader fail hand official record eight 20 years since come chinese rule 1997 accord government department manage archive security bureau 10. researchers say problem hong kong roughly 150 years british colonial rule first 20 years chinese rule never law regulate government record keep destroy result document retention researchers see necessary keep record past somewhat spotty within hong kong british rule archive document hong kong also lax 1994 1995 example government house give nothing archive thank constant flow correspondence colonial government london britain would store copy official record accord researchers handover hong kong china 1997 back-up mechanism disappear lead concern fragment hong kong history might slip away good unlike hong kong china set archive laws officials fail file record face administrative sanction face charge case constitute crime researchers say hong kong-related document keep china access would difficult simon chu former head government record service advocate archive law say prior 1997 researchers could count find record britain even lose hong kong 1997 kind luxury say connie lo documentary director dig 1967 communist-led riot hong kong find almost nothing subject government archive however able find material britain national archive film vanish archive premier hong kong year fear record retention highlight last year government former chief executive leung chun-ying say keep record informal meet local group controversial land development project hong kong current leader carrie lam say place great importance integrity government record support pass archive law say would pursue law receive report law reform commission study issue commission however consider issue four years expect start consultations subject next year activists like chu anxious record sensitive information government decisions 2014 pro-democracy street protest could destroy impunity pessimistic chu say one former senior government official speak condition anonymity also admit throw document order protect former top official decline say document contain suggest practice might widespread civil service sensitive issue would even record say government record service say receive 25 report unauthorized destruction record past six years disciplinary action take four officer four case hong kong 's vanish archive battle preserve history