POPULATION AND IMMIGRATION
Zhuhai Superhighway, two kiosks at the Lok Ma Chau Terminal started to operate round- the-clock from November 3, 1994.
A new immigration anchorage in Tuen Mun was opened in June for the clearance of river trade vessels from China. This has helped to relieve congestion at the Western Immigration Anchorage and to lessen the marine traffic in the Ma Wan Channel.
From September 1994, optical character recognition (OCR) readers were installed at the Hong Kong International Airport, Lo Wu Terminal, Hung Hom Terminal, Macau Ferry Terminal and China Ferry Terminal. As a result, the processing time for passengers holding Hong Kong permanent identity cards or Hong Kong identity cards bearing the ***, * or R symbols, was reduced by four seconds. By the end of 1995, all the other control points will also be equipped with OCR readers.
Legal Immigration
The one-way permit quota agreed upon with the Chinese Government for legal immigration from China was 105 a day-making a total of around 38 000 a year.
During the year, 38 200 residents of China came to Hong Kong for permanent settlement. Of these, 16 774 were wives, 17 220 were children and 1423 were husbands of local residents. Entering Hong Kong for the purpose of family reunification, they made up 92.7 per cent of such arrivals. Of the children who arrived during the year, 3 399 will have right of abode in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) after 1997 under Article 24(3) of the HKSAR Basic Law. There will be a continuous phased entry of these children to lessen the pressure on Hong Kong in 1997.
Illegal Immigration
With its booming economy and proximity to China, Hong Kong remains vulnerable to influxes of illegal immigrants from China. The daily average arrest figure for 1994 was 86, a decrease of 16.5 per cent compared with 103 in 1993.
Most illegal immigrants came to Hong Kong in search of jobs, attracted by higher wages. Frequent checks were conducted on construction sites, factories and other places of employment. Illegal immigrants found at places of work were prosecuted. Their employers were also prosecuted. Most of them were fined, but in serious cases prison sentences were imposed. In addition, there was continuous publicity to emphasise that there would be no amnesty allowing illegal immigrants to stay.
Emigration
Emigration has been a constant feature of life in Hong Kong. The number of persons leaving Hong Kong increased from an average of 20 000 a year in the early 1980s to 30 000 in 1987, and reached 66 000 in 1992. The increase has been attributed to a combination of factors, including concern about Hong Kong's future after the change of sovereignty in 1997 and immigration opportunities in the more popular destination countries. The estimated number of emigrants in 1993 was 53 000. The decrease was possibly due to the economic downturn and reduced intake of some destination countries. According to the latest statistics, the number of emigrants in 1994 was estimated at 62 000.
Of those who emigrated in 1994, about 21 000 were in professional, technical, adminis- trative and managerial occupations. To counter the outflow of talent, the government
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