:
IN CONFIDENCE
7. During the Cultural Revolution widespread unrest throughout Ching spilled over into the Colony, especially in 1967/68. The imprisonment of rioters and the refusal to bend to Chinese pressure for their release led to the sacking of the British Mission in Peking. China now displays a more empirical attitude towards Hong Kong and has been notably co-operative in recent years. It maintains large numbers of officials in, for example, the New China News Agency (NCNA) and the Bank of China and many trading and other organisations in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Government's regular contacts with them are relaxed and easy: the indications are that the Chinese do not wish to disturb the status auo. Mao's death has not caused any change in the relationship. Chairman Hua Kuo-feng appears to be continuing Chou En-lai's pragmatic approach to the development of the Chinese economy. The Chinese Government's plans will call for the purchase of much expensive advance western equipment and technology in the next few years. They could be paid for, or least in part, from foreign exchange earnings derived from Hong Kong and China therefore has a vested interest in the Colony's prosperity in the foreseeable future.
Illegal Immigration from China and South East Asia
8. Hong Kong is regarded as a haven by potential refugees from China and parts of South East Asia but its capacity to accept refugees, even temporarily, is severely limited by the strain imposed on its essential services by an already overcrowded population Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated places in the world. Immigration thus constitutes a constant problem.
9. The vast bulk of illegal immigrants come from China. Between 1971 and 1973 the total number of immigrants from China into Hong Kong increased so fast from about 13,500 to some 74,000
*
a year
that under an oral agreement reached in November 1974 betwee Hong Kong Government officials and Chinese authorities in Kwantung Province, illegal immigrants apprehended while entering the Colony have been returned to China, except where special circumstances apply or in cases of genuine hardship. There is no reason to believe that those returned to China suffer unduly harsh treatment: the Chinese authorities normally regard illegal immigration into
Hong Kong as a civil misdemeanour, which needs to be corrected by
a process of re-education and nat ea a.criminal offence.
IN CONFIDENCE