CO129-604-5 Immigration- control over entry from China 4-3-1948 - 6-1-1949 — Page 2

1. D. M. MacDougall

1/1166/47C

4-3-48

2

Mr. 1.A, Morris

This is the file I spoke to you about on the telephone.

I think you should see it at once so that you can take any action that may be necessary to safeguard the Commercial Treaty position - see paragraph 8 of Mr. MacDougall's letter.

Would you then return the file to me for further consideration. It seems to me that Mr. MacDougall makes out a strong case for rejecting the claim that the Chinese have a prescriptive right to enter Hong Kong. We shall, of course, have to refer to the Legal Adviser for his opinion on this point before we write to the Foreign Office.

Another point we shall have to consider is whether we should not be looking into the possibility of formulating a plan for controlling the entry of Chinese refugees into Hong Kong in the event of the Communist forces gaining the upper hand in South China. It would, I consider, be a wise precaution to have such a scheme all ready, if indeed it is a practical proposition, so that it could be put into force if an influx of refugees were threatened at any time.

A suggestion that might be considered is a plan for providing for refugees somewhere in the New Territories, coupled with their exclusion from the Municipality of Hong Kong, which might be an enforceable proposition.

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