44
OUR MEF : SCR 22/35
YOUR REP.
** 201
GOVERNMENT SECPTARIAT
LOWER ALBERT ROAD
CONFIDENTIAL
Нек
020/1
RELEVEO IN ACONTAY RO. 51
INDL
2 2 OCT 1979
+
Seebs See
ONOV DNOH
9 J.Luber, 1979
bis
Quantan 11 15/10 only womanson A19. 10
TRY
Wa
RIMR
P.A. 19/10.
R C Samuel (sa
Far Lastern Department F CO
TRANSPORT LINKS WITH CHINA
The pace of change here is so great in all spheres of activity that it is sometimes surprising to look back und discover now much ground we have covered in a short time. Communications with China are a case in eoint. This time last year the only way of travelling from here to China was by two different trains and a walk ccross the Lowu b'idge. Now we have not only a regular through train to Guangzhou but air and hoverferry services as well,
2.
Developments have not stopped there. We are already involved with discussions on the railway net about increasing the through train service to two per day. It looks as though it will be possible to introduce this new service early next year. We have also had a series of proposals from various organisations for increasing other forms of communications. You might be interested in brief details as follows:
(a)
Road. (1) At present a limited amount of commercial traffic crosses the border by the bridge at Man Kam To. As the municipality of Shenzhen has developed and Hong Kong interests have become involved in small- scale industry there, the amount of this traffic has been increasing. Because our own immigration and customs controls on that part of the border ale rudimentary, and because also all traffic has to cross through the closed frontier area, we have been limiting the amount of permits given for this traffic and restricting them to what seems really escential. Now, however, we have ar application trom a proposed joint venture between Inchcane and the cansport Bureau of Guangdong Province for a cross-border service using tourist buses, goods vehicles and taxis. It is safe to assume that we will get further requests of this sort in future as Shenzhen itself and probably the beaches of Mirs Bay to the East are opened up for tourism
CONFIDENTIAL
/contd.