A
SECRET
HKK006/3
CORD OF A MEETING BETWEEN HE THE GOVERNOR OF HONG KONG AND
MR HUANG HUA, MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, AT THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AT 1630 HOURS ON 29 MARCH 1979
DSK8
No
J23.4 s
97
HE Sir Murray MacLehose
HM Ambassador
Sir Y K Kan
Dr D C Wilson
Mr T JB George
HE Mr Huang Hua, Minister of
Foreign Affairs
HE Mr Song Zhiguang, Assistant
Foreign Minister
Mr Cui Mingtang, Western
European Dept, MFA
Mr Jiang Enzhu, Western
European Dept, MFA
After initial courtesies the Governor gave an account of his discussions with Deng Xiaoping, Huang Hua having said that he had only had a brief account. Sir Murray said that three things had been discussed. The Vice-Premier had given his view on the future of Hong Kong and had indicated that investment and local autonomy would be respected. He had also made clear that no immediate change was contemplated. Immigration had been discussed, and he had also spoken to Deng about the special problem of land leases in the New Territories.
2.
So far as immigration was concerned the discussion had not been in detail. On numbers, the position was the same as when Dr Owen had seen Huang Hua, although there had been some fluctuations meanwhile. There were three categories: those who came in on one way permits for permanent residence, who were few; those who came in on two-way permits, ostensibly for a visit but who stayed, who numbered 230 a day (of whom only 2% went back); and there was an
increase in those coming without permission. The Vice-Premier had indicated that this problem might be tackled in two ways, in the short and the long term. In the short term Deng had said that the CPG had taken measures but not as effectively as they had intended, and would do more. In the longer term the answer lay in raising living standards in Guangdong and Fujian. Hong Kong businessmen had a part to play, and the Governor said that he would cooperate over this. The problem lay in short term measures. He was glad to hear that some were in hand though he appreciated that there were problems. The Governor suggested that the matter might be tackled in three stages: (1) to bring numbers down, (2) to establish procedures for
/genuine