VIII. SECURITY
CONFIDENTIAL
51.
Her Majesty's
Government
has announced that it will be
withdrawing the Second Battalion 7th Gurkha Rifles from Hong Kong in
1987, and that the battalion will be disbanded leaving a garrison of
one British and three Gurkha battalions. This is a reduction to
The Second Battalion 7th Gurkha Rifles was raised at
a stop-gap measure to deal with increased illegal
immigration. Her Majesty's Government, in consultation wi th the
Hong Kong Government, has also announced that it will
proceeding with the construction of the Kohima Barracks in
Territories.
1980 levels.
that time as
not be
the New
52.
The
and
The
Notwithstanding the overall reduction in illegal immigration
there was an increase in the numbers attempting to enter Hong Kong illegally in middle and late 1985. Arrests for this period averaged
1,250 persons per month, that is 30 percent up on the same period
last year, or approximately 15 percent of the level in 1979.
reasons for the increase appear to be rumours of an a mnes ty
decreased levels of border security due to the recent announcement
of a reduction in the garrison, neither of which a re true.
increase may also be in part as a result of the introduction of more
sophisticated de tection equipment along the border earlier this
year. Intelligence evaluation shows that the percentage of those
who evade the security forces at the border out of the total numbers
that attempt to cross has decreased dramatically from 53 percent in
1979 to 10 percent in 1985. Subsequent arrests of evaders in the
urban areas have resulted in rates of
arrest in the last few years
which are probably close
to 100 per cent.
Cross border
consultations with the Chinese authorities have been held to try to
stem the recent increase.
IX.
CONCLUSION
53.
The signing of the Joint Declaration, which confirmed that the
United Kingdom would remain responsible for the administration of
Hong Kong up to 30 June 1997, and which
ou t the basic
policies of the People's Republic of China regarding Hong Kong for
spelled
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17
CONFIDENTIAL