CONFIDENTIAL
APPLYING FOR HONG KONG ENTRY PERMITS, SUCH A SCHEME WOULD CREATE
THE ADMINISTRATIVE DIFFICULTIES FOR US. WE WOULD ONLY ADOPT IT CHINESE AUTHORITIES CONFIRMED THAT THIS WAS THE METHOD OF CONTROL
THEY PREFERRED. SUCH A SCHEME WOULD HAVE TO FIT WITHIN AN OVERALL
AVERAGE OF 50 A DAY.
(V) UNTIL THE FIGURE OF ABOUT 50 A DAY HAD BEEN REACHED AND MAINTAINED FOR A SUFFICIENT PERIOD TO DEMONSTRATE THAT THE SITUATION HAS BEEN BROUGHT UNDER CONTROL, WE HAD TO REGARD ALL THOS WHO ARRIVED WITHOUT ONWARD VISAS (EXCEPT GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS WITH HONG KONG VISAS) AS POTENTIAL PERMANENT RESIDENTS. FOR THE TIME BEING, THEREFORE, WE CONSIDERED THE TWO-WAY PERMIT PROPOSAL AS PREMATURE, UNLESS THE OVERALL NUMBERS OF HOLDERS OF ALL TYPES OF PERMITS ARRIVING AT LOWU WAS UNDER 50 A DAY.
(VI) ONCE THE OVERALL NUMBERS WERE UNDER CONTROL WE WOULD GLADLY WORK OUT MUTUALLY ACCEPTABLE ADDITIONAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR GENUINE
SHORT VISITS AS ENVISAGED IN THE CHINESE PROPOSAL FOR TWO-WAY
PERMITS. WE DID NOT SEE HOW WE COULD ARRANGE TO SEND BACK
OVERSTAYERS UNLESS ADEQUATE ARRANGEMENTS COULD BE MADE TO CONTROL
THE SCHEME, IT WOULD BE NECESSARY TO ENSURE THAT THE NUMBERS
INVOLVED WERE SMALL (AT ANY RATE TO START WITH): THE LENGTH OF
VISITS WAS KEPT FAIRLY SHORT: AND THAT THE HOST IN HONG KONG TO BE
VISITED ENTERED INTO A WRITTEN AGREEMENT WITH THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT, IN ADVANCE, THAT THE VISITORS WOULD LEAVE WITHIN A SPECIFIED PERIOD (IE PERSONS WITH TWO-WAY PERMITS WOULD ONLY BE ADMITTED AT LOWU IF IN POSSESSION OF A COPY OF THIS AGREEMENT).
2. IN REPLY TAN SAID THAT THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT WOULD FIND IT VERY DIFFICULT TO ACCEPT AN IMPOSED QUOTA IN VIEW OF THE TRADITIONAL
FREE MOVEMENT BETWEEN CHINA AND HONG KONG. THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT WAS VERY ANXIOUS TO CO-OPERATE AND CERTAINLY HAD NO WISH TO SEE HONG KONG FLOODED WITH IMMIGRANTS. IT WOULD THEREFORE CONTINUE
TO TAKE STEPS TO CONTROL THE NUMBER OF THOSE ARRIVING, HE URGED THAT THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT SHOULD ENFORCE THE RETURN OF THOSE WHO HAD COME IN ON TWO-WAY PERMITS AND THAT THEY SHOULD RE-EXAMINE THE CHINESE PROPOSAL AS A WAY OF SOLVING THE PROBLEM.
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