G
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CLASSIFIED
FY HONG KONG 261126Z APR 79
TO IMMEDIATE F C O
TELEGRAM NUMBER 444 OF 6 APRIL
INFO IMMEDIATE PEKING
HKCK 02/13 RECEIVED IN ALOJAMY RO. 31 9 APR 1979
INDEX
INFO PRIORITY HONG KONG GOVERNMENT OFFICE LONDON
مام
PA
JM.4
THE GOVERNOR HELD ONE-HOUR PRESS CONFERENCE TODAY (FRIDAY) BEFORE LARGE GROUP OF LOCAL AND OVERSEAS JOURNALISTS GIVING HIGH-LIGHTS OF HIS TEN-DAY VISIT TO CHINA.
X
2. HE BEGAN WITH A DETAILED OPENING STATEMENT. (FULL TEXT IN MIFT.) THE QUESTIONS CONCENTRATED MAINLY ON LEGAL AND ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FROM CHINA AND WHAT COULD BE DONE TO STEM THE FLOW, THE GOVERNOR REITERATED THAT CHINESE OFFICIALS WERE SYMPATHETIC TO HONG KONG'S IMMIGRATION PROBLEMS AND HAD SAID THAT MORE WOULD BE DONE TO RESTRICT THE FLOW. HE ADDED THAT HE HAD NO DOUBT MORE WOULD INDEED BE DONE BY THE CHINESE AUTHORITIES BUT IT WAS IMPORTANT THAT ACTION SHOULD TAKE EFFECT QUICKLY. IT WAS A MUTUAL PROBLEM WHICH SHOULD BE SOLVED BY CO-OPERATION.
3. REPLYING TO A QUESTION ABOUT WHETHER CHINESE REPRESENTATION IN HONG KONG HAD BEEN RAISED, THE GOVERNOR SAID THAT IT HAD BEEN RAISED IN THE PAST AND HAD BEEN REFERRED TO AGAIN AS SOMETHING- WHICH WOULD BE MENTIONED IN FUTURE. SPEAKING PERSONALLY, HE HAD SAID THAT PRESENT ARRANGEMENTS WERE WORKING WELL AND THAT HE DID- NOT SEE ANY NEED FOR FORMAL REPRESENTATION AT PRESENT. THIS WAS WHAT MR CORSLAND HAD SAID IN 1976.
4. ONE QUESTIONER ASKED WHETHER THE NEW TERRITORIES LEASE WAS BROUGHT UP. THE GOVERNOR SAID THAT HIS VISIT MUST BE SEEN IT ITS PROPER CONTEXT. ''IT WAS A GOODWILL VISIT AND NOT A NEGOTIATING VISIT. IT WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN AN APPROPRIATE OCCASION TO RAISE
THE LONG TERM FUTURE OF HONG KONG
15. WHEN
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