RESTRICTED
-2-
5. Mr Cortazzi thought that the best tactic for UMELCO now, having made their case, was to lie low for a bit and see how things developed. We would keep a close eye on what was happening and would let them know as soon as we thought it would be helpful for them to intervene again.
Immigration into Hong Kong from China
6.
Mr Cortazzi said that the British and Hong Kong Governments' immediate priority must be to bring illegal immigration down to manageable levels. But he would like to know what UMELCO felt about legal immigration. The Hong Kong Government wanted to reduce this to about 50 people a day (the level at which it would balance outward migration from Hong Kong): did Mr Cheung and Mr Li think this realistic?
7. Mr Cheung said this was a difficult problem. So many people in Hong Kong had close family and other ties with people in China that there was no real will to restrict immigration. He would like to see controls imposed on people who left China saying they were going to the Philippines or Indonesia or other third countries but who in fact stayed in Hong Kong. Mr Li said that he personally thought that an annual arrival rate of about 50,000 legal immigrants would be acceptable.
Parliamentary interest in Hong Kong
8. Mr Cortazzi stressed that we in the FCO saw ourselves as the defenders of Hong Kong's interests in London. We understood Hong Kong's problems and tried to be responsible to Hong Kong sensi- tivities. We sometimes wondered, however, whether UMELCO were fully conscious of the sensitivities in this country (particularly among a small group of MPs) to certain types of social issues in Hong Kong. He asked therefore that Mr Cheung and Mr Li should take back to their colleagues in UMELCO a request that they should show understanding if we in the FCO seemed to be attaching disproportionate importance to such issues. Mr Cheung and Mr Li promised to do this.
Distribution:
PS/Mr Blaker
Mr Cortazzi
Mr Murray
HKGD
N&TD
Hong Kong Government Office, London Acting Governor, Hong Kong
RESTRICTED
Page 45Page 46