TNAG-0329-FCO40-365-Briefs-for-UK-officials--visits-to-Hong-Kong-1972 — Page 49

(iii) By taking 200 Category B vouchers

from independent Commonwealth countries.

This makes a total of 412 vouchers, leaving a short-

fall of 88 vouchers which it is thought that Home

Office ministers would be prepared to make up by

increasing the overall ceiling of vouchers for the

Commonwealth.

37%

5. On this basis, Hong Kong would be the only

dependent territory to suffer an actual reduction

since it is the only dependent territory to make

full use of its quota. It would mean that in less

than a year Hong Kong's quota would have been

some reduced from 300 to 188 ( a cut of more than 503

the whole of which would be an effective and not a

notional cut): in addition, the admission of state-

less Chinese from Hong Kong into this country has

been drastically curtailed.

6. As against this, it is proposed that the

remaining dependent territories and Malta should

suffer cuts which will be only notional in that they

are not using their full complement of vouchers in

any case.

7. The discrimination against Hong Kong arises from

the fact that the Home Office consider that their

ministers would be vulnerable to criticism if they

could not show that the increase of 500 special

vouchers for United Kingdom passport holders from

India would result in some genuine reduction in the

total number of Commonwealth immigrants. The cut of

12 in the Hong Kong quota and the cut of 200 Cate-

gory B employment vouchers for independent Common-

wealth countries would represent a "real" reduction

/in immigrants

2

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