(22)
HKK 341/10
& MAR
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SWIA 2ah
From The Minister of State
No da
MT
6 March 1978
The Rt Hon the Lord Goronwy-Roberts
Sear Reverend Harding,
1
David Owen has asked me to let you have a substantive reply to your letter of February about illegal immigrants into Hong Kong from China.
I have deliberately referred to illegal immigrants rather than refugees because we have found no evidence that any of the people concerned come within the definition of refugees given in the 1951 UN Convention on the Status of Refugees. Indeed, I am assured by the Hong Kong Government that since they began operating the present policy in 1973 they have not received a single request for political asylum.
I, therefore, believe that the extension of the Convention to Hong Kong would have very little bearing on the problems you describe.
Each case involving an illegal immigrant is dealt with humanely and sympathetically by the Hong Kong Government. Although in the majority of cases the would-be immigrants are returned to China, if there are exceptional humanitarian reasons, for instance if the immigrant has parents or children in Hong Kong, repatriation is not carried out. The evidence available to us suggests that those who are repatriated are not harshly treated by the Chinese authorities.
Ideally I too would prefer it if the policy of repatriation were not necessary. But Hong Kong is a very small place and its economy and social infrastructure could not support an unlimited number of immigrants.
I have considered in the context of the fourth paragraph of your Committee's resolution whether the Government should apply the Conventions and Protocol to any other of the dependent overseas territories. After reviewing the circumstances of each of the dependencies I have concluded that the likelihood of a refugee problem arising in any of them is so remote that there would be little point in applying the Convention and Protocol.
The Rev D J Harding Director
UN Association
3 Whitehall Court
London SW1A 2EL
Since
From wr, - Roberts.
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