TNAG-0803-FCO40-1007-Immigration-from-China-to-Hong-Kong-1979 — Page 23

SCR 6/2091/55

CONFIDENTIAL HKK 341/1

RAJEVO IN R291

NOTE FOR THE RECORD

28 DZC1973

RL

182

•

DASK G.

Immigration from ChinaEX

No

14

I

Following the Political Adviser's discussions with the N CNA about immigration on 15 December (see his record of 18 December and Hong Kong telno 1446 to F C 0), I asked Mr Tan of the N CN A to call on 18 December so that I could hand over detailed immigration statistics. Mr Tan was accompanied by Mr Li Jo-ho. .passed over a short note of the November and December

figures which P A had used in his discussions with Mr Li Chu-sheng. I also passed over the attached detailed table of arrivals and departures at Lowu from January to November, 1978. I went through this in detail with Mr Tan (who was already familiar with the lay-out since I had passed him a similar table with figures up to August). Mr Tan was anxious to ensure that he understood what each column represented. I reminded him that none of these figures dealt with Chinese officials coming to Hong Kong, either in transit or to work for a short business visit. I added that they did not include the hundred or so people who had come to Hong Kong in connection with the North Point power station but who had travelled on "green" travel permits. I explained that the overall balance in table 13 had very limited significance in that it simply represented the monthly pattern of movement at Lowu of all people travelling either on Chinese travel documents but without visas for Hong Kong or on Hong Kong Declaration of Identity or re- entry permits. I reminded him that the totals in this column showed marked fluctuations even over periods longer than one year and I reminded him of the earlier figures which I had given him on this subject (see my letter of 17 August to Kim Sullivan).

2.

I referred to the problem of those who came to Hong Kong without visas for their declared onward destination and said that I could appreciate the problems which local officials no doubt faced, when people applying for permission to go to Hong Kong produced all sorts of .documents in support of their claim that they would be - able to go to an onward destination. Some documents

could look very official (e.g. statements made before a Notary Public) and in the case of the Philippines it seemed that people sometimes produced documents purporting to show that they would be allowed to visit for a short time but only if they had guaranteed re-entry to the place they were travelling from. In the latter case, this meant that once they came to Hong Kong they would be able to go to the Philippines if they were guaranteed re-entry not to China but to Hong Kong. In practice, this meant they would stay permanently in Hong Kong. The simplest solution to this problem would be if permits to come to Hong Kong were

CONFIDENTIAL

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