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legislation and implementation are described in the Executive
Council Memorandum XCS (80)4 of 30 May (paragraphs 10-16).
Since
the measures must be made public at the same time as legislation,
it will be necessary to provide immediate facilities to deal with
people who will take advantage of the proposed amnesty to register
before the measures are enforced. 23 October is a Thursday and
the Immigration Offices will be specially opened over the weekend
to cope. with the rush. This needs careful preparation and it
would cause problems if the timing were to be altered at the last
minute.
9.
The Secretary of State outlined the measures for the return
of illegal immigrants to Huang Hua during their talks on 1 October
(FCO Telegram No 864 to Hong Kong). The Chief Clerk expanded on
the subject in discussions with Huang on 2 October (FCO Telegram
No 873 to Hong Kong) reminding him of the Governor's forthcoming
visit to Guangdong. Huang replied that he would himself speak to
Governor Xi of Guangdong during his stop-over in Canton. The Governor
also discussed the measures with Huang Hua when he passed through
Hong Kong en route for Peking (Hong Kong Telegram No 1305).
Discretion for Governor
10. In these circumstances it seems reasonable to give the Governor
discretion to go ahead with his plans without referring to Ministers
again. It is most improbable that his visit to Guangdong will
lead him to change his mind on the new measures. His discussions
there might, however, have a bearing on the exact date of enforcement
(though not on legislation). The announcement on 23 October may
possibly provoke questions when Parliament resumes on 27 October,
but strong criticism is unlikely at that stage. That would come
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