CO129-604-5 Immigration- control over entry from China 4-3-1948 - 6-1-1949 — Page 71

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HONG KONG HANSARD

Reports of the Meetings of the Legislative

Council of Hong Kong.

SESSION 1940.

71

11

IMMIGRATION CONTROL BILL, 1940.

The ATTORNEY GENERAL moved the first reading of a Bill intituled "A Bill to regulate the entry and departure of persons into and out of the Colony, to prohibit the entry of undesirable immigrants and to confer various powers in connexion therewith". He said: This is fully explained in the memorandum of Objects and Reasons' and also in the Table of Correspondence, which show that a great deal of the provisions of the Bill are taken from those of the existing Ordinance which it is to replace. Certain provisions are taken from Straits Settlements enactments.

The main feature of the Bill is that whereas under the existing 1934 Ordinance, passports or travel documents were not required for persons of Chinese race, hereafter, when this Bill has passed through all its stages and has been proclaimed by Your Excellency, it will apply to all immigrants. Those who have not got passports or travel documents may obtain other entry permits which will be accepted in lieu thereof, and these are of various kinds. There are certificates of ten years' residence, certificates of four years' residence, which will be just as effective but which will be more expensive than those of ten years' residence, and special entry permits for those who are not residents at all but who are entitled to come here for various reasons. For instance, there will be frontier passes for those who have to pass in and out. It is not essential for anyone to have these passes or passports if they are going away with no intention of returning. They are entry permits and passes not residential licences.

At the same time, judging by those applying for these passes even before the Ordinance has been read a first time, I gather that the populace generally is desirous of having these things in case they should require to use them later on.

time.

1°

The COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded, and the Bill was read a first

OBJECTS AND REASONS.

The "Objects and Reasons" for the Bill were stated as follows:-

The object of this Bill is to repeal the Immigration and Passports Ordinance, No. 8 of 1934, and to replace it by an Ordinance which will carry out a recommendation of the Excess Population Reduction Committee as elaborated in "A Scheme for the Control of Immigration into Hong Kong" prepared by Mr. S. M. Middlebrook of the Malayan Civil Service temporarily seconded to Hong Kong for advice on immigration questions.

2. Although China issues passports to its nationals very few of such nationals possess them, and indeed even very few of the nationals of European countries found it necessary to have them for entry into the Colony until the enactment of the Passports Ordinance, No. 35 of 1923 (since repealed and replaced by Ordinance No. 8 of 1934).

3.

The regulations under the 1923 Ordinance, and the provisions of the 1934 Ordinance exempted (a) persons under the age of fifteen years, (b) persons of Chinese race and (c) persons who pass through the waters of the Colony without landing, and the 1934 Ordinance also exempted persons employed in the service of any ship who arrive in the Colony and leave in the same ship on her next departure. Permission to enter was denied to all other persons unless they were in possession of valid passports or travel documents, and under section 4 of the 1934 Ordinance certain classes of undesirable immigrants could also be excluded.