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51
In order to avoid charges of retrospective action and to make a fresh start, it is proposed that all evaders from China already in Hong Kong at the time of the announcement of the new measures will be immune from liability to be returned to China and will be given the opportunity to register their presence with the Immigration Department in the succeeding seventy-two hours. Action to return evaders will not in practice begin until this period of grace has expired and the legislation has been enacted,
Conclusion
52
The high level of immigration has been such that all alternatives for reducing the inflow must be considered. The population expanded by 297,000 (or 6.3%) in 1979 largely as a result of this immigration, the natural rate of expansion being relatively small. The only remaining option open to us to bring down figures in the short term now appears to be the return of evaders and, possibly, later, overstayers. This action would cut down the numbers who settle here and, more important, would act as a deterrent to the vast numbers still hoping to come and settle. But the risks involved in the side-effects, the difficulty of forecasting exactly what these would be, and the impossibility of reversing such a policy once introduced, make it unwise to introduce until a situation is reached that is sufficiently serious to justify it.
53
However since we are not far off such a situation and since it could arise in the course of this summer, contingency plans should now be finalised, but should only be introduced after further reference to this Council.
Advice Sought
54
Members will be asked to advise whether contingency plans should be prepared to provide that:
(a)
(b)
all illegal immigrants from China arriving after a public announcement to be made on a day decided by this Council, should be returned; those here already being allowed to remain and given the opportunity to register within the period of grace;
plans should now be formulated in detail to enable this policy to be introduced at short notice.
The plan
should cover:
SECRET