CODY FOR
/aphy 25
CATION
OUTWARD TELEGRAM
FROM S. OF S., COLONIES
Cypher (0.T.P.)
TO HONG KONG (Sir A. Grantham)
Sent 29th August 1949, 10,00 hrs.
No. 1163 Secret
Following from Nanking to Hong Kong No. 312 of 27th August repeated Foreign Office No. 1358 for information. Begins.
Your telegram No. 869 to Secretary of State for
the Colonies.
Influx contemplated in paragraph 2 may well prove in practice to be considerably reduced by restrictions on travelling at present imposed in Communist China, as a result of which the Communist authorities may not (repeat not) be disposed to issue any large number of exit permits for Hong Kong to the Chinese. The situation in this respect may of course change after the capture of Kuantung and the possibility of considerable volume of persons crossing the border despite such restrictions can not (repeat not) be ignored,
2.
So long as Communists maintain their refusal to recognise functions of His Majesty's Consuls, I am inclined to doubt whether insistence upon visa would be either politic or effective sanction. Result might only be to increase difficulty of respectable Chinese travellers obtaining requisite exit permits, and may thus adversely affect resumption of commerce and restoration of relations between Hong Kong and the mainland.
3.
The situation might however call for reconsideration after recognition or should appreciation in paragraph 1 above prove to be wrong.
40
Above considerations, would not (repeat not) of course hold good with regard to large influx of Chinese trying to escape from Communists occupying Canton in which case imposition of emergency restrictions would be free of similar objections.
5.
In any event I would suggest that one of the stated reasons for any restrictions of this sort might be to prevent increase of un-productive population of Hong Kong, as this is an argument which the Communists have themselves exploited in justification of their announced policy of reducing the number of residents in Shanghai and other populated urban centres, · Enda,
Circulated to:-
COAL STRIDE
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