A
*
13
At the Eastern end, the border divides the fishing village of Shau To Kok whose inhabitants are accustomed to moving at will from one side to another. A similarly potentially dangerous situation applies in the coastal areas,
particularly on the Island of Ping Chau, which although part of Hong Kong, is much closer to the Chinese mainland than to the New Territories.
8. During 1973 there were 12 tactical infringements of British territory by Chinese soldiers in pursuit of illegal immigrants, 3 of which involved shooting incidents. In addition, there are a great number of casual infringements by troops and civilians, some no doubt accidental. Tension or friction in the Border area could indeed arise from purely local issues and quickly lead to exchanges of fire : and a consequent escalation in tension.
•
9..
Illegal Immigration. Legal immigrants enter Hong Kong
at a current rate of 2,500-3,000 each month.
In addition
In
there are an average of 450 who are detected cntering illegally, quite apart from those who remain undetected. the period Oct-Nov 73 the rate of legal entry reached a figure of 600 per day and was not reduced until after strong British representation to Peking. Much earlier, in 1962, a mass influx occurred when approximately 100,000 people crossed the frontier over a period of 4 weeks. It is possible that
a similar situation could develop again and that this too could lead to incidents involving the militia or the CPA, even though they might wish to avoid them.
*
A3
· SECRET