FORETN
AND GOMMONWEALTH
16 SEP 1980
西安交通大學
Faculty of Foreign Languages,
Xian Jiaotong University
(Sian Chiaotung University)
Xian, Shaanxi Province, The People's Republic of China
HKK 34ll's
RECEIVED IN REGISTRY NO. 51
Minister for Foreign Affairs, 19 SEP 1980
Parliament House,
London, UK.
Dear Sir,
DECK OFFICER
INDEX
w
PA
REGISTRY Action Taken
₤19.9.
Awiql
ALLOCATIONS SECTION
Sept 3th, 1980.
see
OFFICE
I am an Australian, engaged as a teacher of English in China.
Recently,
my wife, who is a Chinese national, and I returned to Australia to visit relatives.
In order to do this we had to pass through Hong Kong, there being as yet no
direct connections between Australia and China. Accordingly, I wrote to the
British Embassy in Beijing concerning a transit visa for my wife. We were informed that, provided she had an entry visa for another country, she would
be able to pass through without a visa. What we did not discover until we reached the Guangzhou railway station passport checkpoint however, was that, as a Chinese passport holder, my wife had to enter Hong Kong at the Lohu (Lowu) checkpoint, ie we couldn't travel in the direct Guangzhou-Kowloon express
-
train (or the plane, hovercraft, boat,...). This meant that a pleasant three hour train journey became a ten hour ordeal facilities at Lohu and on the Lohu-
Kowloon train are not really designed for passengers heading for international flights.
Might it be possible for you to alter the regulations so that Chinese passport holders who are bound for other countries can travel on direct train, plane etc services from Guangzhou (or anywhere in China) to Hong Kong?
While we were in Australia we went to the British High Commission in Canberra and my wife obtained a visa to enable her to pass through Hong Kong on our return to China. Upon arrival in Hong Kong, however, the immigration authorities were not satisfied with her British High Commission visa. Purely fortuitously we had our marraige certificates with us, so by producing them my wife was able to enter Hong Kong.
What I find incomprehensible is why the Hong Kong immigration authorities were not satisfied wiht the visa issued by the British High Commission in Canberra.
Yours faithfully,
C. Tranty.
C. Irving.
3A
!