TNAG-0904-FCO40-1114-Immigration-from-China-to-Hong-Kong-1979 — Page 34

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TA KUNG PAO

Editorial (21 March 1979)

Heck Jud/

S4

NO. 51

2 8 MAR 1979

་

Restrictions Unreasonable

Recently, the Hong Kong, Government has announced time and again measures restricting the entry into Hong Kong of people from the mainland, first requiring applications to be made by Hong Kong residents before hand, and later declaring the temporary suspension of accepting applications, This caused uneasiness to people concerned. In the past few days, it has become a much discussed topic in the press;

and letters published in the press pointed out that the measures were unreasonable and expressed the hope that a review of these measures would be made.

Relations between Hong Kong and the mainland have always been very close. Over the past hundred years, people coming from the mainland for visits to their friends and relatives and for residence had never been subject to restrictions. The sudden introduction of such restrictions, to which no careful consideration has been given, would naturally bring about problems and difficulties to people concerned.

The Government apparently considered that if too many people came to Hong Kong from the mainland, a number of its arrangements for such services as housing, employment, education and social welfare would be affected. That was why the Government decided to restrict the number of people coming to Hong Kong from the mainland. Hong Kong would not have become as intensively developed as it is today had it not been for the resources in terms of manpower and investment provided by people coming here from the mainland at the end of the second World War, as well as for their persistent efforts. Can it be said that the very large number of people including those with professional and technical skills and manual workers who have come here from the mainland, had no share of contributions to the various of community developments in Hong Kong? Even if some of these people were advanced in age, they had relatives to look after them, without posing any problems to the community here.

Up to the present, some of the people arriving from the mainland are here on transit: others are delayed here because they haven't completed the required procedures and are therefore not yet accepted by foreign governments; (according to newspaper reports, there had been incidents where these Chinese emigrants fell victim to racketeers who forged travel documents; if there is truth in these reports, the authority ought to look into the matter and take steps to stamp it out). Some are here on a short term

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