SCR 1/4731/49
Summary Note of Lunch at Government House for Vice-Governor Liu Tianfu on 13 November 1980
Present:
Sir Jack Cater Acting Governor
Dr D C Wilson Political Adviser
Mr D C Jones Secretary for the Environment
Mr I C Orr
Assistant Political Adviser
Sir S Y Chung
Sir Y K Kan
Mr Y P Cheng -Interpreter
Illegal Immigration
Vice-Governor Liu Tianfu
Mr Yang Kezhong
Deputy Director of the Foreign Affairs Office of Guangdong
Province
Mr Lu Jian
Interpreter
Foreign Affairs Office of Guangdong Provincial Government
Mr Li Jusheng
2nd Director NCNA
Mr Li Ruohe
Interpreter NCNA
Sir Jack Cater said that the numbers now being arrested were low; furthermore, there had not been a great upsurge, as we had feared, at the time when the new policy was announced. On both counts, we were grateful to the Guangdong Provincial Government for the great help they had been giving in seeking a common solution to the problem. Vice-Governor Liu said that steps had been taken to inform grass-roots levels of Hong Kong 's new policy. It remained necessary to stay alert. This was a long-term problem which he thought would re-emerge in about 6 months time. Sir Jack agreed that this was a long- term problem, adding that in the past we had seen numbers decline for several weeks and then rise sharply again. Vice-Governor Liu said that generally conditions were improving in Guangdong Province. There had been good harvests this year and economic measures had been taken to allow fishermen and peasants to increase their income through reducing quotas which had to be sold to the State and by encouraging side-line production. However, many people still hoped that by coming to Hong Kong they would be able to earn more money. The fact that they could not now seek employment in Hong Kong was causing people to think again. The outflow had caused damage to the production
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