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Dr J Hoare
PEKING
CONFIDENTIAL
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SW1A 2AH
bile
41
Telephone 01- 270 445 GWV 345/301/1
Те
RECEN
19 JUN 1990
Your reference
Our reference
18 June 1990
Date
E
Dow Dr. Houve,
GRATIS VISAS
1. You will have seen from Alan Montgomery's visit report that he asked me to look at the question of gratis visas issued to holders of Chinese "official" passports.
2. I appreciate that changing a long-standing system which has hitherto been extremely beneficial to the Chinese could provoke them into being difficult in your day-to-day dealings with them. We are, however, currently battling with the Treasury over the question of the cost recovery target for our entry clearance operation and we need to explore every avenue which could increase our worldwide revenue from the issue of entry clearances. I am also conscious of the political and other wider considerations which will need to be assessed in due course before decisions are taken.
3. I have studied our files and note that David Harris, the then Consul in Peking, wrote to the then Head of MVD on 20 October 1988 giving background to the blanket issue of gratis visas to holders of Chinese "public affairs" passports. In order better to understand this matter I wonder if you could kindly let me have answers to the following questions:-
a) Are "official" passports still issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: red diplomatic, green service and dark brown private passports for "public affairs"?
b) I assume that private citizens still hold chestnut brown private passports issued by their local Public Security Bureau?
c) How many gratis visas were issued in 1988 and 1989 and how many of these were for visits to Hong Kong?
d) Are all "public affairs" and indeed other "official" applications accompanied by an official Note?
CONFIDENTIAL