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Complex nationality and immigration issues discussed
The Government is working very hard to resolve the complex series of nationality and immigration issues with the Chinese before 1997 so that Hong Kong residents can be certain about their residence rights, their travel documents and visa- free access to foreign countries, the Secretary for Security, Mr Peter Lai, said today (Saturday).
Mr Lai was briefing Legislative Council members on the 1995 Policy Address.
He said discussions with the Chinese side were focused on three areas: the precise arrangements for non-Chinese nationals regarding the question of their right of abode; the technical arrangements for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passport; and how best to co-operate to secure the maximum degree of travel convenience for Hong Kong residents post 1997.
Turning to immigration control matters, Mr Lai said one priority area was the strengthening of enforcement actions against illegal employment, targeting both at employers and illegal workers.
He pointed out that the Immigration Task Force, which was established last year with 46 officers, had carried out 1,518 raids against illegal employees and their employers in the first nine months of this year, 86 per cent more than the same period last year.
"As a result, 3,363 illegal workers and 731 employers were prosecuted.
"These figures were 50 per cent and six per cent over comparable figures for last year," said Mr Lai.
"The Force has now doubled in strength to 92 officers and we will be able to launch more operations to target illegal workers as well as their employers," he added. Mr Lai said new measures would be introduced in the coming weeks to enable the authorities to deal with the problem of illegal employment more effectively.
These measures include introducing "W" prefix to identity cards to be issued to newly arrived foreign domestic helpers; legislative changes to require employers to inspect contract workers' travel documents to make sure that they may be legally employed before offering employment; and proposals to raise the level of fines for employers employing illegal workers.