CO129-604-6 Immigration- control over entry from China 1-1-1947 - 4-1-1950 — Page 131

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54064/49

OUTWARD TELEGRA

FROM S. OF S.. COLONIES.

Cypher (0.T.P.)

IMMEDIATE

TO HONG KONG (Sir A. Grantham) fa (38)

Sent 7th September, 1949. 12.15 hrs.

No.1199 Secret.

Addressed te Governor, Hong Kong. Repeated to Nanking.

**

" Canton.

"Commissioner General No.491.

Your telegram No.669.

Immigration control.

1. I regret delay in replying, but you will appreciate that your proposals required detailed consideration and consultation with Foreign Offies.

2.

While I entirely agree that you should be able to restrict immigration at short notice, your proposal to demand valid passports visaed by a British Consul is not free from difficulty so far as persons wishing to proceed to Hong Kong from areas under Communist control are concerned. I have not overlooked the point made in paragraph 3 of your telegram, but it seems improbable that imposition of visa requirements for entry to Hong Kong would influence the Communist authorities towards recognition of British Consular officials, Moreover:-

(a)

(b)

the acceptance of a passport or traval document issued by a Communist authority, or the grant of a visa on such a document by one of H.M. Consuls, would imply a certain degree of de facto recognition of the issuing authority, which H.M.G. are, on general grounds, most anxious to avoid at this stage;

it is unlikely that, in view of present Communist insistence that H.M. Consule are private individuals, Chinese citizena would be allowed to seek visas from them.

3. Any arrangement, therefore, to impose visa requirements, or to require passports issued by Communist authorities, would at this stage be open to serious objection, quite apart from the possible difficulty of issuing the necessary confidential instructions on the matter to Consular posts in Communist China. I should be grateful 12 you would consider this aspect further and let me hare your views.

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