BACKGROUND NOTE
IMMIGRATION INTO HONG KONG FROM CHINA
1. Over 280,000 immigrants have entered Hong Kong from China in the past two years, equivalent to a 6% increase in the population. The influx is a major concern to the Hong Kong Government; it places a heavy burden on their social services and seriously ham- pers their development programmes.
2. About half of the immigrants have crossed legally. The Hong Kong Government place no controls on the entry of legal immigrants, in deference to the Chinese view that their citizens enjoy a tradi- tional right of entry to Hong Kong. But they have let it be known to the Chinese authorities that they would like the figure to be maintained at about 50 a day sufficient to balance the normal
outflow of people leaving Hong Kong to settle in other countries.
At the end of 1978, following Chinese measures to liberalise travel, the figure rose to over 300 a day. In response to repeated repre- sentations, the Chinese authorities undertook to reduce the flow to
a more acceptable level. By mid-1979 the figure was down to around 150 a day, but it has since remained at that level.
3. 1978-79 also saw a major increase in the number of people cross- ing the border illegally. Those who are caught at the point of entry are repatriated to China, but once they reach the urban areas they are allowed to stay. In 1977, an estimated 6,600 people entered Hong Kong illegally in this way. In 1978 the figure was about 27,600, and in 1979 it was 112,500, despite a greatly stepped- up effort in mounting border patrols on the Hong Kong side (involv- ing a substantial reinforcement of the garrison) that succeeded in bringing the proportion of those arrested and repatriated down from one in five to one in two.
4. The problems of immigration, both legal and illegaly, from China into Hong Kong, were raised by the Prime Minister during her meeting with Premier Hua on 1 November 1979. He gave a categorical assurance that appropriate measures would be taken. At the beginning of January new measures to control and discourage illegal emigration
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