TNAG-0803-FCO40-1007-Immigration-from-China-to-Hong-Kong-1979 — Page 20

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FM F C 0 221840Z DEC 78

TO PRIORITY HONG KONG

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See (.184

TELEGRAM NUMBER 967 OF 22 DECEMBER

INFO PRIORITY PEKING.

79

YOUR TELNO 251: IMMIGRATION INTO HONG KONG.

(PA

HKK 341/1

RECEIVES IN RON

28 DEC 978

INDEX

Ne i

10.

1. IN THE COURSE OF A MEETING WITH THE CHINESE AMBASSADOR THIS AFTERNOON, CORTAZZI REINFORCED THE REPRESENTATIONS MADE TO VICE FOREIGN MINISTER CHANG WEN CHIN AS REPORTED IN PEKING TELNOS 916

AND 917. HE EXPRESSED APPRECIATION FOR CHANG'S UNDERSTANDING

ATTITUDE, BUT SAID WE WERE CONCERNED ABOUT THE LACK OF A SUBSTANTIVE RESPONSE SO FAR. CORTAZZI DREW ATTENTION TO THE

ENORMOUS INCREASE IN BOTH ILLEGAL AND LEGAL IMMIGRANTS AND TO THE

SERIOUS PRACTICAL PROBLEMS WHICH THE INFLUX WAS CREATING FOR HONG

KONG. THE SITUATION COULD BECOME INTOLERABLE IF PRESENT TRENDS

CONTINUED. BEFORE WE CONSIDERED ACTIVE STEPS FOR DEALING WITH THE PROBLEM, WE WISHED TO ASK FOR CHINESE HELP: WE WERE ANXIOUS TO AVOID TAKING MEASURES WHICH WOULD CAUSE DIFFICULTIES FOR THE

CHINESE AUTHORITIES,

2. CORTAZZI ALSO DREW ATTENTION TO THE DIFFICULTIES CREATED BY THE

INFLUX INTO HONG KONG, VIA CHINA, OF ETHNIC CHINESE EXPELLED FROM

VIETNAM. THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT WAS SERIOUSLY DISTURBED ABOUT THE

VIETNAMESE REFUGEE PROBLEM MORE GENERALLY AND HAD TAKEN PART IN THE

GENEVA DISCUSSION ON 11/12 DECEMBER. WE WERE DOING OUR BEST TO HELP THE UNHCR, BUT WE WERE CONCERNED THAT THE CHINESE AUTHORITIES APPEARED TO BE UNWILLING TO TAKE BACK CHINESE EXPELLED FROM VIETNAM

WHO HAD COME INTO HONG KONG WITHOUT AN ONWARD DESTINATION. WE HOPED THE CHINESE WOULD DO THEIR BEST TO HELP IN THE CONTEXT OF

THE IMMIGRATION PROBLEM MORE GENERALLY.

|3.KE

3. KE HUAA

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