$93
CONFIDENTIAL
Call by Mr Lo Fan-ch'un and others on HE the Governor at Government House: 12 noon Thursday 12 October 1978
Present:
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Mr Lo Fan-ch'un (Vice Chairman of the. Canton Revolutionary Committee and of the Canton Trade Fair),
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FA
JO Taken
Mr Ma Fu (Director of the Kwangtung Foreign Affairs
Office and Chairman of the Kwangting branch of the Chinese People's Association of Friendship with Foreign Countries),
Mr Wang K'uang (First Director of NCNA),
Nr Pan Teh-sheng (NCNA),
Mr Li Jo-ho (Interpreter, NCNA).
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with Cluna
His Excellency the Governor,
Dr D C Wilson (Political Adviser).
The main points covered at the meeting have already been recorded in Hong Kong telegram No. 1194 to the FCO of 12 October. The following is an amplification of that account.
Air Services
2.
Mr Lo made a number of appreciative remarks about the arrangements which had been made' here for the charter flights to Canton, His wish that such flights would continue, and that they would include others in addition to businessmen, followed these remarks.
Immigration
3.
The discussion on immigration problems took up some time. Mr Lo took very little part in the conversation. Initially the reaction came from Mr Wang, who produced unforthcoming comments about the "well-known" position that it would not be right to refuse travel permits to those visiting their relatives. Mr Ma took him up on that by commenting that efforts had already been made to limit the number of those coming to Hong Kong legally. He went on with some comments about illegals. He said that, under the 1973 agreement, the Hong Kong Government had agreed to return all illegals. Nevertheless the number who were sent back was small. Reports appeared in the press of people reaching their relatives and then saying that they had been forced to come illegally since the Chinese government would not give them legal permission to
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CONFIDENTIAL
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