‹ BY BAG
K Sullivan Esq PEKING
CONFIDENTIAL
211A
Aniluann
30.10
26 October 1979
MO.
HKK 341
RECEIVED
30 OCT 1979
RF
PA
DESK OFFICES
INDEX
IMMIGRATION FROM CHINA
206
see (227B
We were encouraged by the indication in para 4 of your telne $26 to FCO of 19 October that the MFA will shortly be letting you know of arrangements for travellers on Chinese passports to be refused entry at Lowu if they do not have valid onward visas or transit visas for Hong Kong. While this will only reduce the daily arrival figures for those without onward visas by 10 to 15 a day, it will remove a dangerous source of loopholes which might otherwise be exploited by people unable to get exit permits to come to Hong kong.
2.
There have already been some signs that, pending the MFA's formal notification, the representations we and you have been making on this issue have had some effect. A traveller's tale in September said that a strict check was being made of people attempting to get visit visas from the Yugoslav imbassy and no travellers have arrived recently with Yugoslav visas. Jince August we have also had some success locally in getting the Chinese to accept back quickly at Lowu a number (102 to 22 October) of travellers with us visa-promise letters which have clearly been forged, usually with names being substituted for the original beneficiaries of visa petitions. Prompt help by the US Consulate-General here incchecking such cases on their files has made this easier. Kovever not all forgeries are easily detected since the relatives in China are generally only sent photocopies of the original letter and there vere 134 arrivals up to 24 October without valid visa-promise letters. We also found on 20 October that a group of 31 were not accepted back despite clear evidence of forgeries, apparently because of a change of immigration officials at Shenzhen. Some, however, have been accepted back since then and I have made sure that our immigration officers tell me of any problems so that we can raise this with the NCNA.
3.
Once the new system is implemented we shall have to settle our ovn procedures for handling people with valid US visa-promiseth letters who fall into one of the preference categories with a long backlog and who would have to wait for much longer than a few months here before their visa could be issued. I will write further about this but meanwhile you may find it helpful to have the background contained in the enclosed letter of 17 October from Ed Kreuser in the US Consulate-General to Don Owen in Immigration Department.
14.