TNAG-0801-FCO40-1005-Immigration-from-China-to-Hong-Kong-1978 — Page 59

GR 260

CY /CAT A

FM HONG KONG 262945Z

CONFIDENTIAL.

CONFIDENTIAL

TO PRIORITY PEKING TELNO.64 OF 26 MAY 78,

INFO F.C.0.

AKK 341

XC.

по

3 GMAY 1978

PA

Sea 54

TELECON SULLIVAN/A.P.A ON 26 MAY : IMMIGRATION FROM CHINA.

**

x.van

1. THE 'STATEMENT BY THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT' MENTIONED TO

YOU BY CHANG YI-CHUN AND LI PAO-CHENG OF THE M.F.A WAS IN FACT

A REPLY ON 24 MAY TO AN ORAL QUESTION FROM AN UNOFFICIAL MEMBER

OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL (TEXT IN M.I.F.T).

2. THE FIGURES GIVEN IN THE REPLY ARE ROUGH ESTIMATES. OF

IMMIGRANTS ENTERING LEGALLY UP TO 21 MAY 16,487 WERE FROM CHINA.

THE BALANCE OF ABOUT 7,000 INCLUDES MANY WHO WILL NOT STAY

PERMANENTLY IN HONG KONG (E.G FOREIGNERS ADMITTED WITH EMPLOYMENT

VISAS AND THEIR DEPENDANTS WHO ARE ADMITTED AS RESIDENTS) ALTHOUGH

TREATED AS IMMIGRANTS RATHER THAN VISITORS FOR STATISTICAL

PURPOSES. ALSO INCLUDED ARE MANY CLOSE DEPENDANTS OF HONG KONG

RESIDENTS COMING FROM COUNTRIES OTHER THAN CHINA AND MEETING OUR

NORMAL IMMIGRATION CRITERIA: BY CONTRAST, MAY OF THE LEGAL (BUT UNCONTROLLED) IMMIGRANTS FROM CHINA HAVE CONNECTIONS WITH HONG

KONG WHICH ARE TOO DISTANT TO SATISFY THESE CRITERIA.

3. THE ILLEGAL FIGURE IS AN EVEN ROUGHER ESTIMATE SINCE ABOUT HALF

COME FROM COUNTRIES OTHER THAN CHINA AND GENERALLY SURFACE VERY

SLOWLY. ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FROM CHINA SURFACE MORE QUICKLY AND

WE CALCULATE THE EVASION RATE AT ABOUT FOUR TIMES THE NUMBER ARRESTED (WHICH WAS 1,054 TO 21 MAY). AS YOU WILL APPRECIATE, WE DO NOT PUBLISH FIGURES ON CHINESE ILLEGALS ARRESTED SINCE A VERY

SMALL NUMBER OF THEM ARE ALLOWED TO STAY. THERE IS OF COURSE NO

QUESTION OF REPATRIATING THOSE WHO EVADE ARREST.

MACLEHOSE

FILES

HK & GD

MVD

CONFIDENTIAL

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