XN000022-1980-10-01 — Page 7

5

-

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1980

HE SAID THAT WHILE HE HAD NO DETAILED KNOWLEDGE OF THE MEASURES ON THE CHINESE SIDE, THEY WERE ACTIVE AND WERE BELIEVED TO RESULT IN THE ARREST OF THREE TIMES AS MANY PEOPLE AS BY OUR OWN SECURITY FORCES.

OUT OF EVERY FIVE ATTEMPTING TO PENETRATE THIS SINO/BRITISH SCREEN IT WAS BELIEVED THAT ONLY ONE SUCCEEDED.

+AND YET IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS 94 000 DID SUCCEED, HE SAID.

*THE IMPLICATION IS THAT THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO ATTEMPTED TO REACH HONG KONG AND EITHER SUCCEEDED OR WERE ARRESTED MUST HAVE BEEN SOMETHING LIKE 450 000 IN ONE YEAR, AND OBVIOUSLY MORE MUST HAVE TURNED BACK UNDETECTED.

+SO IF THE GUARD SLIPPED ON EITHER SIDE OF THE FRONTIER AND ADJACENT SEABOARD, WE WOULD LITERALLY BE OVERWHELMED BY THIS WAVE OF HALF A MILLION OR MORE THAT HANGS OVER US.

THIS IS THE DIMENSION OF THE THREAT, SIR MURRAY SAID.

REFERRING TO THE LEGAL IMMIGRANTS, SIR MURRAY SAID THAT WHILE THE VOLUME HAD, BEEN BROUGHT DOWN IN RESPONSE TO REPRESENTATIONS FROM A PEAK OF 310 A DAY IN DECEMBER 1978 TO AN AVERAGE OF 150

A DAY THIS YEAR, THIS REPRESENTED AN ADDITION OF ABOUT 55 000 A YEAR TO OUR POPULATION. IT IS FAR TOO MUCH AND SHOULD BE GREATLY REDUCED.+

THE STREAM OF LEGAL IMMIGRANTS, HE EXPLAINED, CONSISTED OF PERSONS WHO HAD BEEN ISSUED PERMITS BY THE CHINESE AUTHORITIES TO LEAVE THE IR PLACES OF RESIDENCE FOR EXTENDED VISITS TO HONG KONG.

+BUT IN PRACTICE AT LEAST 96 PER CENT REMAIN PERMANENTLY IN HONG KONG,+ HE SAID.

GENERALLY, THE LEGAL IMMIGRANTS COMPRISED COMPLETE FAMILY GROUPS, OFTEN WITH SKILLS AND EDUCATION AND NORMALLY WITH FAMILY CONNECTIONS IN HONG KONG. THEIR ABSORPTION WOULD NOT PRESENT A DIFFICULT PROBLEM WERE IT NOT FOR THEIR NUMBERS.

SIR MURRAY ALSO PAID TRIBUTE TO THE SECURITY FORCES SAYING +THE MOUNTING EFFICIENCY, DETERMINATION AND TECHNICAL SKILL WITH WHICH THEY ATTACKED THIS DISTASTEFUL TASK IS BEYONG ALL PRAISE.+

VIETNAMESE REFUGEES AN INTERNATIONAL PROBLEM

******

HONG KONG WILL DO ALL IT CAN TO ENSURE THAT THE VIETNAMESE REFUGEES STILL HERE ARE NOT SWEPT UNDER THE INTERNATIONAL RUG AS FORGOTTEN PEOPLE, THE GOVERNOR, SIR MURRAY MACLEHOSE, STRESSED TODAY (WEDNESDAY).

SIR MURRAY SAID THAT ON THE BASIS OF PLEDGES ALREADY GIVEN, SOME 7 000 OF THE 28 200 VIETNAMESE REFUGEES STILL HERE ARE EXPECTED TO BE RESETTLED OVERSEAS BY THE END OF THE YEAR.

+HOWEVER, WITHOUT FIRMER PLEDGES FOR NEXT YEAR, THERE IS A DANGER THAT THE RATE OF RESETTLEMENT COULD DROP CONSIDERABLY, HE SAID.

/HONG. KONT