SECRE
EL
176
GR 380
SECRET
FM HONG KONG 230841Z SEP 80
TO PRIORITY F C O
TELEGRAM NUMBER 1231 OF 23 SEPTEMBER
INFO PRIORITY PEKING
172A)
YOUR TELNO 810: ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION.
TOP COPY
HKK 341ll
RECEIVED IN REGISTRY NO. 51
2 4 SEP 1980
DESK OFFICER
INDEX
PA
мо
182.
! REGISTRY
Action Take
Ain asla
se
PA SPOKE TODAY TO LI JUSHENG, 2ND DIRECTOR OF THE NCNA. HE SAID THAT YESTERDAY'S FIGURES FOR ARRESTS (AT OVER 700 THE HIGHEST THIS YEAR) ILLUSTRATED THE CONTINUING SERIOUSNESS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION. WE HAD PLANS FOR TAKING FURTHER MEASURES ON OUR SIDE TO DEAL WITH THE PROBLEM. GOVERNOR XI HAD SEVERAL TIMES SPOKEN OF HIS WILLINGNESS TO DISCUSS MUTUAL PROBLEMS. I HAD ASKED PA TO SAY THAT I WOULD LIKE TO TELL XI DIRECTLY ABOUT OUR PLANS. AT THE SAME TIME I COULD FOLLOW UP EARLIER CONVERSATIONS
ON ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION. BECAUSE OF LONG STANDING ENGAGEMENTS ABROAD, THERE WAS ONLY ONE TIME WHEN A VISIT TO GUANGZHOU MIGHT
BE POSSIBLE. THIS WOULD BE FROM APPROXIMATELY MID-DAY ON 19 OCTOBER TO MID-DAY ON 21 OCTOBER. PA ASKED WHETHER XI WOULD BE
IN GUANGZHOU AT THAT TIME AND WHETHER THE NCNA THOUGHT THE IDEA OF SUCH A VISIT WOULD BE WELCOME.
2. LI (WHO HAD JUST RETURNED FROM ATTENDING THE NPC) SAID THAT, SINCE XI HAD BEEN APPOINTED A VICE CHAIRMAN OF THE NPC, HE WOULD EVENTUALLY BE TRANSFERRED TO PEKING. (YANG SHANGKUN, FIRST SECRETARY OF GUANGZHOU, HAD ALREADY BEEN MOVED). THIS WOULD NOT, HOWEVER, HAPPEN UNTIL THE END OF THE YEAR. XI, TOGETHER WITH OTHER PROVINCIAL GOVERNORS AND FIRST SECRETARIES, WAS STILL IN PEKING ATTENDING MEETINGS. HE WOULD RETURN TO GUANGZHOU BY 1 OCTOBER. THEREAFTER PROVINCIAL MEETINGS WOULD KEEP HIM VERY BUSY FOR THE FIRST HALF OF THE MONTH. HE COULD NOT OF COURSE BE CERTAIN, BUT, UNLESS XI HAD TO RETURN TO PEKING AFTER THESE MEETINGS, HE SHOULD BE AVAILABLE IN GUANGZHOU AT THE TIME SUGGESTED.
3. COMMENTING ON THE DESIRABILITY OF A MEETING, LI SAID THAT, AFTER
THE NPC SESSION, HE AND OTHER HONG KONG DELEGATES HAD ATTENDED A MEETING WITH PRIME MINISTER ZHAC. ZHAO HAD SHOWN CONCERN FOR HONG KONG AND FOR MATTERS AFFECTING THE BORDER SUCH AS CO-OPERATION OVER ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION. HE THOUGHT, THEREFORE, THAT THE IDEA OF
THE MEETING WOULD BE WELCOME TO THE PRIME MINISTER.
SECRET
14.