11
事,
旅務境
遊和
Immigration and Tourism
A TOTAL of 13.5 million people passed through immigration control as they entered or left Hong Kong during 1978. This was 13 per cent more than in 1977. The continua- tion of the favourable economic climate was a factor contributing to the increase.
The Hong Kong International Airport had an extremely busy year and accounted for 39 per cent of the total. The Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal dealt with 40 per cent and Lo Wu, on the Chinese-British border, with 21 per cent. Local residents accounted for 60 per cent of all travellers; the remainder were mostly short-term tourists or business visitors. More than one million visits were paid to China by residents of Hong Kong.
Immigration
The Immigration Department has a staff of 1,788, of whom 987 are uniformed officers. The work of the department falls into two main streams - controlling people moving in and out of Hong Kong, and providing identity cards and travel documents for local residents.
Immigration Control
Extreme pressure of population is a feature of Hong Kong's situation and while every effort is made to facilitate the entry of people visiting Hong Kong and those who have a positive contribution to make to the territory's development and prosperity, im- migration controls must be designed and operated to keep increases in population from migration within acceptable limits.
During 1978 there was a continuing increase in immigrants entering Hong Kong from China (which is the main source of migration to Hong Kong both legal and illegal). After reaching a peak of 77,000 people arriving here for settlement in 1973, there was a marked reduction in the flow of arrivals to 27,500 in 1976. In 1977, 34,000 people arrived and in 1978 the total rose to 71,500. This relatively high level of migration from China to Hong Kong caused considerable concern and was the subject of discussions between British and Chinese authorities during the year. The level of illegal immigration from China also increased sharply with 8,192 illegal immigrants being detected and repatriated to China, compared with 1,779 in 1977.
Efforts to combat illegal immigration continued throughout the year, and many cases of travellers using forged or falsified travel documents were detected, usually at Hong Kong International Airport, Kai Tak. Attempts by Hong Kong residents and