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Hkk 243/1
HACHED.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SW1A 2AH
20 July 1979
1434
23
Can
Geoffrey
298A
Thank you for your letter of 6 July with which you enclosed
one from your constituent, Mr R C Thornton, about the Vietnamese
refugees in Hong Kong.
see (1578
1597
Mr Thornton is right in saying that Hong Kong owes its
present prosperity to a high rate of immigration in the past.
But the vast majority of these immigrants have come from the neighbouring provinces of China. Hong Kong has no choice but
to accept people from China (unless they are caught trying to
enter the territory illegally, when they are returned). Provided
the numbers are kept within reasonable bounds, such immigrants are
generally welcomed by the local population. But the flow of people
during the last 18 months has been on a scale which has threatened
to undermine all that the Hong Kong Government has achieved in
housing and social development over the past decade. As you know,
the British Government recently agreed to provide reinforcements
for the garrison in Hong Kong to help stem the flood of illegal
immigrants. Our action seems to have stimulated the Chinese to
take effective measures themselves, and I am glad to say that the
last two weeks have seen a marked reduction in the numbers of
illegal immigrants. arrested. Nevertheless the Hong Kong population
has been swollen by more than 200,000 people from China since the
beginning of last year, and there are still far too many people
coming in.
The influx of refugees from Vietnam must be considered
against this background. But they are a quite separate problem.
Although the majority of them are ethnic Chinese, most of them
unlike those coming from China - do not have relatives in Hong
Kong and do not want to settle there. The local people regard them
as foreigners and they are therefore much more difficult to absorb
into the community.
The Rt Hon Sir Geoffrey Howe QC MP
/Hong Kong
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