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Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SW1A 2AH
12 July 1978
HKK 341
RECEIVED IN REGISTRY NO. 51 13 JUL 1978
DESK OFFICER
INDEX,
Thank you for your letter of 28 Junel enclosing
(14)
further comments from the Reverend and Mrs Grist about
the Hong Kong Government's policy of repatriating illegal
immigrants from China.
But the great
and poor
REC TRY
Action Teen
rural
I do not think that anyone would claim that all the
illegal immigrants who are repatriated had no political
reasons at all for trying to leave China.
majority of these people come from small
communities, and it is quite clear that the main reason they
decide to leave for Hong Kong is the possibility of a higher
material standard of living. They may not particularly like
the political system in China, but they are not and do not regard themselves as political refugees. It may also be
worth repeating that each case is considered individually,
and if there is any reason to suppose that the person concerned
might suffer persecution if he were returned to China, he is
allowed to stay in Hong Kong.
—
The Reverend and Mrs Grist also ask whether we can have
confidence in the evidence that those who are returned to
China are not harshly treated. There are a good many sources
of information for what happens in China. In this case, the
best source is the illegal immigrants themselves. Some of
them who have been caught and repatriated come back for a
second, or even a third attempt. They describe the punishment
Alfred Morris Esq MP
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