CONFIDENTIAL
28 July, 1969, on various aspects of land policy, and that the District Commissioner is likely to address you further in due course in respect of certain matters not covered in that letter, in the light of the most recent of the regular discussions on this subject which take place between the Heung Yee Euk and the New Territories Administration.
(viii) Immigration
Your concern over restrictions on the immigration into the United Kingdom of Hong Kong Chinese, in particular those wishing to work in Chinese restaurants, is understandable. You will appreciate that Hong Kong cannot be considered in isolation but must be considered in the context of the overall position, under the Commonwealth Immigration Acts, of all Commonwealth countries. Nevertheless, following an announcement by the Minister of Labour in Farliament on 26th February 1968, new arrangements for the allocation of employment vouchers were introduced. Hong Kong has benefited from these arrangements, inasmuch as, being a dependent territory, new and more restrictive criteria for the issue of Category A vouchers have not applied to Hong Kong (Category A vouchers are those issued to persons having a specific job to go to). Furthermore, a separate quota of 60C employment vouchers per annum are now allocated specifically for applicants from dependent territories and Hong Kong receives 300 per annum of these. In the financial year 1968/69, 306 labour vouchers were in fact issued. Of these, 291 were in Category A and 15 in Category B (i.e. persons with special skills).
Chairman,
Heung Yee Kuk, New Territories.
I am, sir,
Your obedient servant,
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CONFIDENTIAL