CONFIDENTIAL
при
By Enter
7/27/4
233 4777
(33
LCR 1/6/2091/55V
HKK 341/301/1
20 April 1977
CD Drace-Francis Esq Assistant Political Adviser Government Secretariat HONG KONG
Э
LAST REF.
Э
MEXI REF.
(36)
LEGAL EMIGRANTS FROM CHINA
1. You wrote to Nick Fenn on 7 February enclosing a report on this subject by the Chief Immigration Officer at Lowu and inviting his and our comments on it. A trawl around the Office has produced the following:
(a) The categories set out in paragraph 2 of the report are very similar indeed to those laid down in March 1972 by the CIG State Council. It is interesting to see that the latter's still apply. We have never seen them published and the only references to them that we have met have occurred in informal material such as that presented in the "Travellers' Tales". From the latter it appears that the criteria are 5 or 6 in number;
One set may
(b) Other criteria exist apart from the report's and the State Council's and referring in particular to overseas Chinese. have been issued in May 1971 and another in July 1975;
(c) In paragraph 3 of the report, Mr Chui argues that it is difficult, if not impossible, to see how the annual quota of emigrants is allocated within China. Our records, however, suggest that the State Council, on the request of both the llong Kong authorities and the British Government who were anxious to reduce the number of legal immigrants entering Hong Kong each day, promulgated "further instruction" on the subject in the second half of 1973. Although we do not have the terms of the new regulations, we understand from one source that up to 25 applicants a day could be given exit permits in Fukien and Kwangtung and up to 10 a day from each of the other provinces. Subsequent reports have provided further glosses to general policy and provincial allocationɛ
(a) In the same paragraph Mr Chui argues that "the prime factor in determining success or failure of an individual application (for a CEF) would be the strong and acceptable evidence produced by the applicant in support of the claim for connections with people outside China". It is interesting, however, that in no case of people interviewEĆ and reported in the CIks has such evidence been demanded by the Chinese authorities although it has almost always been offered by the applicant:;
A
CONFIDENTIAL
(e) In paragraph
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