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Saturday, June 9, 1973
RECORD NUMBER OF PASSPORTS ISSUED
A record number of 4,601 British (Hong Kong) passports were issued
in May by the Immigration Department, the highest figure for any one month.
Previously, the highest figure was 4,127 and this was recorded in
March.
A spokesman for the department explained that the issue of passports
usually increased in the summer with local students leaving for overseas studies
and residents likely to go away on holidays.
Up to the end of May this year, a total of 17,286 passports had
been issued, compared with 11,529 in the same period last year.
The spokesman added that the rising standard of living, cheaper
travel costs and simplified procedures for application all contributed to
the increase in passport applications.
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