TNAG-0515-FCO40-580-Restrictions-on-visits-of-nationals-from-Soviet-Bloc-to-Hong-1974 — Page 11

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HONG KONG VISAS FOR EAST EUROPEAN BUSINEEN

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We discussed your minute of 22 October. You told me that, Mr Mikardo, reporting Sir Y K Kan, had suggested that the responsibility for delays and refusals in issuing visas for East Europeans to visit Hong Kong lay with HMG. The origin of this is the exercise which Mr Mikardo and Sir Y K Kan are currently conducting to build up trade between Hong Kong and Eastern Europe.

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The policy document on visas for Hong Kong is Circular '0' 14/74 of 22 January 1974 (attached). This was issued at Hong Kong's request to explain to our Embassies why Hong Kong is tougher than the UK on the issue of East European visas.

We go along with this tough policy because we accept that Hong Kong must not become a point for Soviet espionage on China.

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Hong Kong interpret this instruction very rigidly in deciding whether to issue visas. Indeed they often try to extend the principle to cover all Communists (as for example in the recent case of the two students from South Vietnam). Whenever a Communist does visit Hong Kong, they give him 24 hour Special Branch coverage and their own instructions lay down that, whatever the circumstances, no greater number of Communists can be admitted at any one time than Special Branch can cope with. In a number of instances (as again in the case of the South Vietnamese students), we have had to struggle to get them to modify their policy.

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As a member of Hong Kong Executive Council, Sir Y K Kan knows this well in theory, but under his Trade Development Council hat he still believes that exemptions should be given to those with whom he wishes to do business. An example of this dilemma is in Mr Dorman's letter to me of 22 October (attached). Mr Mikardo's interest is presumably even more straightforward. Because of his consultancy for the Hong Kong Trade Development Council's work in East Europe, he is only concerned to get visas for relevant businessmen and not with the possible security implications in Hong Kong.

5.

The formal situation is that when visa applications are made to our East European Embassies, they are immediately forwarded to Migration and Visa Department in the FCO. Checks with the Security Service follow which in normal circumstances should not take more than ten days and in any case not more than a fortnight. The results of these checks are passed as facts to Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Government then makes its own decision. We do not usually make recommendations; but when we do, and when the Hong Kong Government ignores the recommendation, their decision is almost invariably in favour of a harder line than we have suggested.

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I have discussed personally with the Hong Kong Secretary for Security that there might thereafter be further delays in Hong Kong which would justify Sir Y K Kan's complaints. He admitted that this was not impossible. These cases usually involve an argument between the Trade and Security sides of the Hong Kong Government. He also thought that the Hong Kong Immigration Department might not always be above putting the blame on HMG.

CONFIDENTIAL

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