CONFIDENTIAL
Your Ref:
AUS(GS) 93/79 (D/DS6/46/66/1)
G Dromgoole Esq
AUS (GS)
Ministry of Defence
Main Building
Whitehall SW1
ود
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SW1A 2AH
22 March 1979
HKK 341/1
2. 7 MAR 1973
Mr-winramon
1/27.3
20/3
See (.67)
Dew Jolyon
Dee (70
1 Thank you for your letter of 14 March about the Governor of Hong Kong's request for immediate naval reinforcement and possible military reinforcement later in the year.
The
2. I should begin by emphasising that everything possible is being done to deal with the root causes of the problems which Hong Kong is now facing. We have made repeated representations to the Chinese, in London and Peking as well as in Hong Kong, about the need to restrict the numbers arriving from China Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary raised the matter with the Chinese Foreign Minister when he visited London last October, and will almost certainly do so again when he goes to Peking next month. We believe the Chinese Government appreciate Hong Kong's difficulties and are genuinely trying to be helpful.
But they have problems of their own, particularly in limiting the numbers of legal emigrants, at a time when they are under pressure to allow greater freedom of movement. I am reasonably optimistic that, in one way or another, we shall succeed in bringing the number of legal immigrants into Hong Kong down to more manageable proportions. But, as the Governor has pointed out, if we achieve this, it is likely to make the problem of illegal immigrants worse.
3. It is difficult to see what more can be done to stem the flow of illegals. In 1974, the Hong Kong Government reintroduced the policy of repatriating to China all those who were intercepted at the border. The immediate drop in the numbers suggested that this was an effective deterrent. But over the last year or so, the numbers have gone up again, not, I think, because the deterrent has lost its effect but simply because, again as a result of the increased freedom of movement in China, far more people are getting the opportunity to try. As long as the gap between the standards of living in Hong Kong and China persists, I cannot see much prospect of a reduction in the numbers of Chinese who are drawn by the bright lights of Hong Kong. Nor can I see any acceptable way in which the deterrent could be made more effective, except by increasing vigilance at the border so that a higher proportion are caught and returned. Certainly there can be no question of intro- ducing harsher treatment for those who are caught. And it would be
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CONFIDENTIAL
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