TNAG-0801-FCO40-1005-Immigration-from-China-to-Hong-Kong-1978 — Page 23

AKK 341/1

RECEIVED IN REGISTRY NO. 51 2 6 JUN 1978

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REGISTRY

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CONFIDENTIAL

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IMMIGRATION INTO HONG KONG

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The Secretary of State has asked for a background brief on the problem of immigration from China into Hong Kong.

2. The total land area of Hong Kong is less than 400 square miles.

Its population, at present 4.5 million, has increased seven-fold since the end of the war, mainly as a result of immigration from China. It is therefore very overcrowded and there is a limit to its ability to continue to absorb new arrivals without unacceptable

consequences for its social welfare programmes.

3. Immigrants from China come either legally, i.e. with the

knowledge and approval of the Chinese authorities, or illegally, without that approval. These two categories are considered separately below. A further paragraph sets out the position over immigration

from Indo-China.

Legal Immigration

4. The willingness of the Chinese authorities to allow people to leave legally has varied over the years. But they have generally been willing to grant exit permits to only a small proportion of

those seeking them. In the past they have given priority to the old and infirm, to those with close relatives living overseas and to

overseas Chinese who went to China to avoid persecution elsewhere (e.g. in Indonesia), but there are now indications that young and

able-bodied people are also being allowed to leave. The

Hong Kong Government accept as immigrants all those who are granted exit permits but seek to keep the numbers within manageable propor- tions by means of informal understandings with the Chinese

authorities.

5. The number of legal immigrants from China reached a peak of 56,000 in 1973. Following informal discussions with the Chinese authorities in 1974 the figure dropped to 26,000 in 1975. It

remained at around that level for the next two years but at the end of last year started to rise sharply to reach a level of 150 per

CONFIDENTIAL