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SECRET 高度機密
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from Haifeng County seeking refuge from an earth tremor and associated civil disorder, who were arrested as illegal immigrants. Over 4,000 other such persons were detained on their boats and refused permission to land. Following an ultimatum that they would be repatriated across the land border, they returned voluntarily
on their boats to China in 48 hours.
28.
People are still being motivated to escape by rumours and speculation that Government intends to reintroduce the 'reached base policy' or grant an amnesty on some occasion such as the forthcoming marriage of HRH the Prince of Wales. Other factors include the activities of escape syndicates; rumours concerning the availability of forged identity cards in Hong Kong; and would-be escapees believing that, with the assistance of relatives, they could successfully circumvent Hong Kong measures.
From Vietnam
29.
April's arrivals comprised 35 groups totalling 1,417 refugees, the majority from Central Vietnam. Of this total 249 were rescued in four boats by merchant ships on the international shipping lane, and one group were stowaways on a Cypriot registered ship from Northern Vietnam. Some of the groups travelling by small boat from Vietnam arrived via Macau and included 8 mixed contingents of genuine Vietnamese and'ex-China' cases, as the Macau authorities had placed the latter aboard the Vietnamese boats whilst in transit through Macau. Direct arrivals by small boat (i.e. excluding resuce at sea and China cases) in Hong Kong and Macau in April totalled 830 compared with about 500 in April 1980.
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30.
The ex-China groups can no longer be regarded as isolated cases which slipped through the Chinese security net. Following a six months absence, nine ex-China groups have arrived since February, including seven in April. Chinese security forces have reportedly let these persons move freely between their farms and Macau once they have been identified as Vietnamese Chinese rather than Chinese Illegal
Emigrants.
G.F. 316
/para 31
SECRET 高度機密