CONFIDENTIAL
7. IMMIGRATION
1.
The arrangements for returning Chinese illegal immigrants (ie those who escape from China without documents) have continued to work smoothly. In November 1974, the last
month before the arrangements came into force, the number of Chinese illegal immigrants arrested was 674. In the following three months the numbers arrested and returned
were as follows:
Arrested
Returned
December 1974
238
223
January 1975
100
96
February 1975
50
48
The Governor's Political Adviser believes that there has
been a distinct decline in attempts to enter Hong Kong illegally, as a result of stiffer measures being taken
on the Chinese as well as the Hong Kong side of the border. The daily average of legal immigrants (ie those crossing the border at Lowu with permits) has also fallen,
from 94 in December to 70 in February.
2. The return of illegals provoked predictable reactions
from agencies in Taiwan, and there have also been enquiries
from Amnesty and other organisations concerned with refugees.
Generally, however, criticism has been fairly muted; and
it has been appreciated that Hong Kong could not continue to absorb Chinese illegal immigrants at the levels pertaining
in 1972-1974 indefinitely.
3. The Hong Kong Government acknowledges the importance of ensuring that the procedure for interviewing illegal
immigrants before their return is sufficient for identifying
cases whose return would involve genuine hardship either
on humanitarian grounds or in terms of subsequent treatment
by the Chinese. Predictably, the decisions are not always
easy to take. For instance, Hong Kong considered that the return of a 26 year old single woman who had sought to
/enter
CONFIDENTIAL