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at least for the time being. As indicated above, the Political Adviser/NCNA contact has come to be accepted by both sides as the appropriate channel for sorting out day-to-day problems in Hong Kong/ Chinese relations. So long as we are satisfied that the Chinese are genuine in their desire to help and I think we are it could be counterproductive to raise the subject formally in London or in Peking. But provided it is not done too often I see no harm in mentioning our concern informally on appropriate occasions, as Mr Cradock did during his call on Sung Chih-kuang on 23 June.
5. Lord Goronwy-Roberts also asked what we should try to achieve in our discussions with the Chinese. The present intention (as in 1974) is simply to persuade them to issue fewer travel permits, so that the numbers of legal immigrants are reduced to manageable proportions. We have not tried to be more specific for example, by trying to limit particular age groups nor have we mentioned the possibility that the Hong Kong Government might introduce controls on the numbers of legal immigrants admitted to Hong Kong. At present Hong Kong accept all those the Chinese allow to travel, thus avoiding a potential dispute over whether or not the Hong Kong authorities have the right to prevent Chinese citizens from travelling, as the Chinese Government would see it, from one part of China to another which happens to be occupied by Britain. Any change in this policy would clearly have political implications (the Chinese reacted very sharply when the possibility was last mentioned in 1973) and would require very careful consideration.
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6. The Secretary of State also mentioned the problem of Vietnamese boat people. Refugees from Vietnam continue to arrive in Hong Kong in considerable numbers. Between 1 May and 13 June 586 arrived, of whom 260 were ethnic Chinese. This brings to 794 the number of
The UNHCR Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong awaiting resettlement. representative for the area has recently visited Hong Kong and has put into motion contingency plans to cope with the influx. addition, the Home Office have agreed in principle to accept 50 Vietnamese refugees from Hong Kong for settlement in the UK.
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