I can assure you that there has never been any question of returning genuine political refugees to China. But I should also point out that the vast majority of those who seek to enter Hong Kong illegally from China are not refugees in the accepted sense of the word. They are simply people who are attracted by the prospect of better opportunities and a higher material standard of living in Hong Kong.
All the evidence available to us, including the first hand accounts of people who, having been repatriated once, are caught making a further attempt to enter Hong Kong illegally, confirms that those who are returned to not receive unduly harsh treatment. The Chinese authorities generally regard an attempt to leave China illegally as a civil misdemeanour rather than a criminal offence.
I should add that the Hong Kong Government are now having to contend with an even more serious immigration problem than the one they faced in 1974. Immigration from China has again reached very high levels: some 100,000 people arrived legally or illegally in 1978 alone. addition refugees from Vietnam are arriving much faster than they can be resettled elsewhere. Your correspondent will no doubt have read about the "Huey Fong" arrived off Hong Kong at the end of last year and was eventually allowed to land the 3,300 refugees on board. But that is only one, very striking example of the difficulties facing Hong Kong.
Finally I should mention that the figure of 11,000 illegal immigrants repatriated between 1974 and. mid-1978 (quoted by your correspondent from a Written Answer in the Commons on 8 May last year) was incorrect. The right figure, just over 4,500, was given in reply to a subsequent question on 19 July 1978. I enclose an extract from Hansard.
I am returning Miss Kay's letter.
Bros Gromary
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