4.
(a)
(b)
(c)
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about 4% came to Hong Kong in transit for countries such as Canada and the Philippines for which they held visas. These posed no problem;
about 16% had been issued by the relevant Chinese authorities with a "travel permit to visit Hong Kong and Macau" ("wanglai Gang-AO tongxing zheng") which showed that they had said they intended to go on to countries overseas. However, they did not have visas. As Mr Chu would know, they were generally unable to go on to countries such as Indonesia and Singapore which were their stated destinations. The vast majority of this group stayed in Hong Kong;
80% whose destination was Hong Kong. majority remained here.
The vast
A solution
The overall figure was the problem. to part of the problem would be if the Chinese side could ensure that people wishing to go through Hong Kong to other countries had visas for their destination before leaving China. But the main problem was the 80% who came to live in Hong Kong. During the discussions in Peking in 1973 the British Ambassador, Sir John Addis, had mentioned that an ideal figure of arrivals would be not more than 50 a day. This figure was for those who intended to stay in Hong Kong and was not meant to include people in transit. The problem was to find measures to bring numbers down to this ideal figure. It was understood that there would always be daily fluctuations, but the average should be around 50. He hoped that in the interests of harmonious relations between China and Hong Kong it would be possible for appropriate measures to be taken on the Chinese side. Mr Chu would be aware that there had already been press articles about the increase in numbers. It was important that the problem should not escalate and become a matter of public debate and criticism. The best way to avoid problems in Hong Kong would be for measures to be taken on the Chinese side.
5.
Mr Chu said that he was aware of the general background to the discussions in 1974 at Shum Chun. However, he was not sure whether recent figures were known in Peking. He would certainly report the views expressed by Dr Wilson to the relevant authorities in China. He thought that the numbers coming to Hong Kong were not regulated by Peking but were the result of local approval of applications to travel to Hong Kong. Не thought that last year about 30,000 people had come to Hong Kong but figures kept by China Travel Service were not always sent to NCNA. Following Dr Wilson's discussion with Mr Li in April, China Travel Service had been asked to provide figures each month.
/contd..
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