Afa
CONFIDENTIAL
Mr Laird
IMMIGRATION BILL
1.
Gaminan
Hai
clightly
I have ser
fuwera
Aumended
thi. En
?
1/4
You will wish to reply to Sir Leslie Monson's minute of 25 March on the above subject. I offer the following comments in the light of our meeting yesterday with Mr Wright,' Administrative Commissioner for the Government of Hong Kong in
London.
2. In his telegram No 153 the Governor argues that Hong Kong's allocation of employment vouchers for Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies from Hong Kong should not be reduced below the present level of 300 per annum: he uses the following arguments:
a. In recent years Hong Kong has made full use of its
allocation and there has always been a waiting list.
b.
c.
d.
Other dependent territories have not made full use of their allocations.
The number of alien (ie stateless) Chinese from Hong Kong who have been granted entry visas into the UK in recent years is very considerably in excess of the number of Hong Kong Citizens of the UK and Colonies who have been granted employment vouchers to work in the UK.
The population of Hong Kong constitutes at least 70 per cent of the total population of all the dependent territories and this in itself constitutes a strong case for allowing Hong Kong to retain its existing allocation of employment vouchers.
3. The arguments at a. and b. above are statements of fact and must carry some weight. The argument at c. is also true but it appears that it is unlikely to remain so for very much longer (see paragraph 6 below). The argument at d. overlooks the fact that approximately half of Hong Kong's population are aliens.
4. The Governor does not put forward any economic arguments. This may be because it is well known that there is virtually full employment in Hong Kong at the present time and that the Colony's economy is extremely buoyant. It is estimated that the number of Hong Kong Chinese in the United Kingdom at the moment is approximately 40,000 of whom 70 per cent are reckoned to be Commonwealth citizens and the remainder stateless Chinese. The stateless Chinese normally come from the urban areas of Hong Kong (since it is necessary for aliens to have some skills in order to get employment in this country).
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CONFIDENTIAL
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