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Mr. Sidebotham.
Please see copies of minutes overleaf by
Seel.
Lord Listowel and Mr.
There is some controversy about Hong Kong's legal right to exclude Chinese (not only from the New Territories, but from the ceded area also). This point has, I believe, been referred by you to Legal Advisers on 54064/48. The point is however
of little more than academic interest in connection with the sort of refugee influx we have in mind here. If hoards of Chinese refugees want to enter the Colony of Hong Kong they will enter, whether it is legal or not. Nothing but several divisions of troops along the frontier could stop them. And then some of them would come by boat at night. With respect therefore I do not think that control of immigration by issue of identity cards is a practicable proposition.
The most important immediate problem which would confront the Hong Kong Administration if refugees began to flock in would be their concentration and feeding. If there were some centre or centres where this could be done in the New Territories then, as Mr. Mayle suggested in (2), there might be some hope of keeping at least the majority of the refugees out of the municipal
area.
That attention is being given to a plan of this kind in Hong Kong we know from Dr. Sloss who told us the other day that consideration had been given to the erection of huts on an old airfield at Kam Tin but that it had been decided that the situation did not yet warrant this step, but that a water supply connection was to be made to Kam Tin so that it could be readily used if required.
Dr.