TNAG-0802-FCO40-1006-Immigration-from-China-to-Hong-Kong-1978 — Page 152

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Secondly, there are good reasons in our discussions with the Chinese for emphasising overall numbers rather than the reasons why people wish to come here. Immigration Department have recently started a survey of the extent to which immigrants have close relations in Hong Kong. Most arrivals have some relative here. This is hardly surprising given the history of immigration to Hong Kong. The first results from our survey show that in June 1978 41.3% of arrivals (.e. 75 per day) had sufficiently close relatives here to be eligible for visas under current immigration policy. In practice, we do not at present apply this policy to Chinese travellers at Lowu although we would certainly reserve the right to apply normal immigration criteria at the border if necessary and do not accept the point sometimes made by the Chinese that there is a historical right of free travel between China and Hong Kong (see e.g. the Aide Memoire sent by the F C O to the Chinese Embassy in London on 15 November 1973, text in FCO telno 1170 to Hong Kong copy enclose to Peking only).

Vietnamese Refugees

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I have not mentioned the joker in the pack refugees in China from Vietnam who would doubtless far rather be in the US, France or Hong Kong (see also David Wilson's letter SCR 6/2091/55 of 10 July to Robin McLaren). The problem is, on any realistic assessment, bound to hit us sometime. We have had an initial brush with it (and with the Chinese) over 6 people who arrived at Lowu on 22 July with expired Philippines travel documents, apparently issued in Ho Chi Minh City. We failed to persuade the Chinese to take them back while we checked whether they would in fact be accepted in the Philippines. It took the Philippines Consulate-General nearly three weeks to get confirmation from Manila that the documents were forged and we had discovered meanwhile that the refugees (there is no doubt of their being recent arrivals from Vietnam) had no serious intention of going anywhere but Hong Kong and seemed to have some relatives and access to money here. We decided in the circumstances that it was not worth trying to get the Chinese to accept them back. However, we have told NC NA that we hope that in future the details of any doubtful cases involving travellers on non-Chinese documents will be referred to us before they are allowed to cross the bridge, and that we reserve the right to refuse entry if they have no good claim to come here. We have also reminded them that refugees from Vietnam who cross at Lowu would not be eligible

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