Wine B
MINUTES OF A MEETING AT THE FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE AT 1000 hrs on 7 DECEMBER 1977 AT WHICH LORD GORONWY ROBERTS, MINISTER OF STATE, RECEIVED Mr JOHN ROPER, MP AND Colonel PATRICK MONTGOMERY. ALSO PRESENT WERE Mr PETER BACON, PRIVATE SECRETARY, AND Mr MICHAEL UPTON, REPRESENTING THE HONG KONG OFFICE
Mr Roper explained that he had sought the interview both in his capacity as a Member of Parliament and as a member of the Committee of
the Anti-Slavery Society. That Committee had become increasingly anxious about the returning by the Hong Kong Government to the People's Republic of China of so-called "freedom swimmers" illegal immigrants. Anxiety on the same subject had been voiced by constituents and more recently by his colleagues from other European parliaments in the Assembly of the Council of Europe. There had been reports in the European press - notably in Le Monde
notably in Le Monde - which suggested that human rights. were being regarded by the authorities in Hong Kong as taking second
place to political expediency.
He stressed that he and the Society
fully appreciated the difficulty of the situation, the desirability of reducing, by whatever means, the large numbers of legal immigrants which Hong Kong was required to absorb and the political factors involved.
There were, however, four points on which he wished to seek
information:-
(a) Could the Minister disclose for each year since 1971 the numbers
of legal immigrants permitted to enter Hong Kong from the People's Republic of China and of illegal immigrants detained and returned?
(b) What are the criteria which an intercepted illegal immigrant must
satisfy in order to be allowed to stay in Hong Kong? That is to say: How is 'hardship' defined? Are any sent back who might be
in peril of their lives? It had been said that interrogation was
tco perfunctory.
(c) Did the Minister feel satisfied that the interrogation procedures
are satisfactory? Is any legal representation provided such as
would be regarded as normal in the UK?
(a) Had there been a change in the Chinese policy or attitude on this
question as a result of the change of government in China?
.....