Translation of a Newspaper Extract
Newspaper: Ming Pao
Headline: Shen Ch'uan Crowded with Legal Immigrants
Date: 8.8.78
F.
As Shen Ch'uan is now crowded with legal immigrants, all the
hotels are full. Some of the immigrants have to sleep on canvas beds
and some of them have to share rooms with others.
2.
These people, holding travel documents valid one way, are
coming to Hong Kong from different provinces, cities and districts.
3.
According to an old lady, a native of Chaochow, who arrived in Hong Kong yesterday, she stayed in Shen Ch'uan for 10 days. There
are still many old and weak people in Shen Ch'uan. As they do not have enough money, they call their friends and relations in Hong Kong to
ask them to take money to the Customs in Shen Ch'uan, where the money
is changed into Renminbi.
4.
The old lady also saw quite a few visitors from Hong Kong taking
turns to look after their relations staying in the hotels in Shen Ch'uan.
Many of the visitors from Hong Kong are students, probably due to the
summer vacation.
5.
Most of the people who come from Chaochow and Swatow have to
assemble in Swatow, where they take the first bus to Shen Ch'uan which
leaves at 4 a.m. They usually arrive in Shen Ch'uan between 1.30 p.m.
and 2 p.m.
As they have to be inspected before being allowed to go
through the Customs, most of them cannot get to Lo ku by train on the same day. They used to take the early train on the next morning, to go to Hong Kong but they can no longer do so, as many people are being allowed
to leave China.
6.
The crowded condition got worse in the latter part of July. It was rumoured that there is a quota system governing the number of people
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