布政司署
香港下亞畢道
CONFIDENTIAL 34|||
本署檔號 OUR REF.: (4) in CR 12/2091/79 II
* YOUR REF.:
Security Branch
(14't
GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT
LOWER ALBERT ROAD
HONG KONG
R&R to Mr. Williamson
0/v.
6.9.E.
DONIL AF
30112
ache
P.J. Williamson Esq.,
Hong Kong and General Department,
well
31/12
Foreign and Commonwealth Office, London SW1A 2AH.
21 December 1921
Dea Parrick
(Hkk 341/1
Illegal Immigration from China
Repatriation from Hong Kong
HKK 3411.1.
AZ PAMETRY NO.
1 DEC 1981
DESK OFFICER ANDEX
PESTRY Action Taven
You wrote to Richard Margolis on 5 November asking why we excluded certain categories from the illegal immigration statistics which are sent to you. I am sorry we have been slow in replying.
2.
We make this exclusion in order to be more accurate in relating the repatriation figures to the figures for arrests which appear at Appendix A of the return. The latter are those illegal immigrants
(a)
(b)
who are caught on first arrival; and
whose intention is to remain in Hong Kong.
PG01311
Those who are later caught or surrender for repatriation are thus outside Category (a and shoppers, excess crew members, smugglers and certain others are outside Category (b) they intend to do whatever they have to do and then return to China.
3.
-
We make this distinction in order to try to get nearer an accurate evasion ratio, i.e. the proportion of those caught on first arrival as against those who escape capture. Before CHAMPION we knew pretty well what this ratio was (1 : 0.6 in September 1980) as those who escaped capture and reached base subsequently registered. Nowadays this does not happen and we have to do some guessing. Nevertheless the ratio is of considerable importance to us since it is one of the few pointers we have to the size of the submerged illegal community living here. At present, after deducting those evaders who are either found or surrender and are then repatriated, we reckon the illegal community to be of the order of 5,000. This is disturbing enough, especially as it is slowly rising, but still tolerable. Most of these immigrants will now have false identity cards and the long term solution to this is of course the issue of the new secure card backed by a computer checking system.
CONFIDENTIAL
/ 4.