CONFIDENTIAL
機密
LM 1323
Source Details and Access
Source was a 41 year old ethnic Chinese male, who had left Quang Ninh, Northern Vietnam for China in April 1978. He had entered China via Mong Cai, and had subsequently been resettled on the Yingchong (5391/4767) Overseas Chinese Tea Farm, Yingde County, Guangdong.
The Escape from China
2.
Source had heard of many successful escapes by Overseas Chinese residents from his area, but lack of funds had prevented his own escape until May 1981. By this time, Source had saved sufficient money to buy passage on a boat, and he decided to make the journey to Pingsha (1627/ 3097) from where he had heard an escape to Macau or Hong Kong was easily arranged. On arrival at Pingsha, Source discovered two other potential escapees whom he had met previously, and they joined together to plan their escape. They found a boat suitable for the escape at the Wushan (0063/ 1472) Commune Shipyard, which they arranged to purchase. This involved obtaining a certificate from the leader of the Wushan Commune (name not known) which they were able to do. They then paid a deposit of RMB 500 for the boat, with a balance of RMB 6000 to be paid prior to departure.
3.
Source and his two fellow organisers then set about inviting other escapees to join then in their venture, at a cost of RMB 120 for adults and RMB 60 for children. The response to their offer was overwhelming, end soon they had recruited the full party of 107 people.
40
On 9th May 1981 the group departed from the No.2 Lock, Wushan, with the commune leader on board. He collected the money from each passenger a total of RMB 7,100. This money paid the outstanding balance on the boat, a bribe of RMB 6000 to be the lock-keepers and his own commission of RMB 500 on the sale of the boat. After collecting bis money, the commune leader returned to Wushan on board a rowing boat. Once they were on the open sea, the group lost their way, but managed to negotiate towage with a Macau fishing vessel in return for 1.8 taels of gold. The group arrived in Macau on 14th May 1981, and after some repairs to the boat were carried out by the authorities, they were then re-directed to Hong Kong, arriving on 17th May 1981.
Information - China
5.
Source stated that when he left Pingsha on 9th May he noticed that there were about 800 ethnic Chinese from Vietnam who were hoping to make an escape. Source stated that escape was difficult unless one had the co-operation of the local Chinese people. Source went on to claim that according to a contact of his in the Wushan shipyard, the Public Security Bureau (PSB) Staff and local militia had not taken action against overseas Chinese trying to escape since February 1980 (sic).
6.
Towards the end of 1980, the overseas Chinese at the Yinghong Overseas Chinese Tea Farm had been approached by a farm official, and had been asked whether or not they were willing to accept Chinese citizenship. According to Source, most had refused, as they all hoped for eventual resettlement overseas.
CONFIDENTIAL
機密