CONFIDENTIAL
布政司署
BY BAG
HL&G) 1
GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT
LOWER ALBERT ROAD
HONG KONG
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香港下亞畢道
*RM OUR Ref... SCR 6/2091/55 Pt X
* YOUR REF.:
Sep.minte M. Qy11827/4
Ih. The mum
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K SULLIVAN ESQ
MWPEKING
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from Mr Orr which records Hong kong's latest move in their attempt., to persuado Poking to limit omn
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from China.
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IMMIGRATION FROM CHINA
17 August 1978
HKK 341/1
INDO
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STATISTICS
a
16 12
You will have seen from paras 6-9 of David Wilson's letter SCR 1/4731/49 of 1 August to Robin McLaren that Li Chu-sheng, the No. 2 Director of the local N C NA office, has suggested that our immigration figures are wrong; and that we undertook to provide detailed statistics in order to try to resolve any discrepancies between records kept at Lowu and Shum Chun. Accordingly, on 11 August I gave Mr Tan of NCNA three tables prepared by Immigration Department (copies attached) giving :
2.
(a)
(b)
(c)
overall annual figures from 1971 to 1978;
detailed monthly statistics from January 1977 to July 1978; and
detailed daily statistics for the first nine days of August.
The main conclusion which we have drawn from these tables is that the Chinese could be basing their claims of inaccuracy on the. difference between the figures for new arrivals from China and the overall figures for movement across the border. (These over- all figures exclude Chinese officials with visas for Hong Kong and all travellers with neither Chinese nor Hong Kong documents). The monthly table shows that net movement across the border in the past 4 months - when Chinese officials have no doubt been paying close attention to the question was lower than the arrival figures we have been giving them for the same months. This is because during these months there was a net out- flow of travellers on Hong Kong documents. However, when columns 5 (total arrivals) and 13 (overall balance)
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CONFIDENTIAL
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