GC 433
CONFIDENTIAL
FM F C 0 221840Z DEC 78
TO PRIORITY HONG KONG
CONFIDENTIAL
See (.184
TELEGRAM NUMBER 967 OF 22 DECEMBER
INFO PRIORITY PEKING.
79
YOUR TELNO 251: IMMIGRATION INTO HONG KONG.
(PA
HKK 341/1
RECEIVES IN RON
28 DEC 978
INDEX
Ne i
10.
1. IN THE COURSE OF A MEETING WITH THE CHINESE AMBASSADOR THIS AFTERNOON, CORTAZZI REINFORCED THE REPRESENTATIONS MADE TO VICE FOREIGN MINISTER CHANG WEN CHIN AS REPORTED IN PEKING TELNOS 916
AND 917. HE EXPRESSED APPRECIATION FOR CHANG'S UNDERSTANDING
ATTITUDE, BUT SAID WE WERE CONCERNED ABOUT THE LACK OF A SUBSTANTIVE RESPONSE SO FAR. CORTAZZI DREW ATTENTION TO THE
ENORMOUS INCREASE IN BOTH ILLEGAL AND LEGAL IMMIGRANTS AND TO THE
SERIOUS PRACTICAL PROBLEMS WHICH THE INFLUX WAS CREATING FOR HONG
KONG. THE SITUATION COULD BECOME INTOLERABLE IF PRESENT TRENDS
CONTINUED. BEFORE WE CONSIDERED ACTIVE STEPS FOR DEALING WITH THE PROBLEM, WE WISHED TO ASK FOR CHINESE HELP: WE WERE ANXIOUS TO AVOID TAKING MEASURES WHICH WOULD CAUSE DIFFICULTIES FOR THE
CHINESE AUTHORITIES,
2. CORTAZZI ALSO DREW ATTENTION TO THE DIFFICULTIES CREATED BY THE
INFLUX INTO HONG KONG, VIA CHINA, OF ETHNIC CHINESE EXPELLED FROM
VIETNAM. THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT WAS SERIOUSLY DISTURBED ABOUT THE
VIETNAMESE REFUGEE PROBLEM MORE GENERALLY AND HAD TAKEN PART IN THE
GENEVA DISCUSSION ON 11/12 DECEMBER. WE WERE DOING OUR BEST TO HELP THE UNHCR, BUT WE WERE CONCERNED THAT THE CHINESE AUTHORITIES APPEARED TO BE UNWILLING TO TAKE BACK CHINESE EXPELLED FROM VIETNAM
WHO HAD COME INTO HONG KONG WITHOUT AN ONWARD DESTINATION. WE HOPED THE CHINESE WOULD DO THEIR BEST TO HELP IN THE CONTEXT OF
THE IMMIGRATION PROBLEM MORE GENERALLY.
|3.KE
3. KE HUAA
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CONFIDENTIAL