GRS 300
CONFIDENTIAL
HKK341/1
CONFIDENTIAL
FM HONG KONG 011015Z JUN 79
TO IMMEDIATE F C O
TELEGRAM NUMBER 705 OF 1 JUNE
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по
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INFO IMMEDIATE PEKING, ROUTINE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT OFFICE LONDON
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PEKING TELNOS 512 AND 513: IMMIGRATION.
1. POLITICAL ADVISER TODAY ASKED DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF NCNA, QI FENG (THE SECOND DIRECTOR, LI, IS IN PEKING) TO CALL AS A FOLLOW-UP TO THE AMBASSADOR'S CONVERSATION WITH ASSISTANT MINISTER ZHANG.
2. POLITICAL ADVISER REPEATED TO NONA THE GIST
OF WHAT ZHANG HAD SAID TO THE AMBASSADOR. HE SAID THAT WE TOO WISHED TO DEAL WITH MATTERS IN LIGHT OF THE PRESENT EXCELLENT RELATIONS AND THAT WE WERE PLEASED TO SEE THAT THERE HAD BEEN SOME REDUCTION (ALTHOUGH NOT YET ENOUGH) IN THE NUMBERS OF LEGAL IMMIGRANTS. HE THEN SPOKE AS IN PARAS 3 AND 4 OF PEKING TELNO 513,
3. PA EXPRESSED SURPRISE THAT ZHANG APPEARED TO BE UNAWARE OF THE CORRECT FIGURES FOR LEGAL IMMIGRATION. WE HAD MADE A POINT OF PASSING OVER TO NCNA FULL DETAILS. HE ASKED QI TO ENSURE
THAT BOTH THESE AND THE FIGURES FOR ILLEGALS WERE REPORTED TO
PEKING.
4, QI, WHO CLEARLY HAD NOT BEEN BRIEFED ON THE MEETING IN PEKING,
REPEATED THAT CHINA HAD NO WISH TO FLOOD HONG KONG. MEASURES.
HAD ALREADY BEEN TAKEN TO DEAL WITH THE NUMBER OF LEGAL
IMMIGRANTS: WE COULD BE CONFIDENT THAT NUMBERS WOULD DROP
FURTHER. HE WOULD NOT BE DRAWN ON HOW MUCH FURTHER THEY WOULD
COME DOWN. ON ILLEGALS, HE SAID THAT HE WAS SURE THAT THE EVASION RATIO WAS BETTER THAN THE FIGURE OF 1:2 OR 1:3 WHICH THE PA HAD
USED. THE NUMBER OF ILLEGALS WAS PARTLY A CONSEQUENCE OF MEASURES
ALREADY TAKEN ON LEGALS. HE SAID THAT CHINA HAD TO BE AWARE OF
THE DANGERS OF PUTTING TOO GREAT A RESTRAINT ON LEGAL EMIGRATION LEST THE NUMBER OF ILLEGALS SHOULD INCREASE. HE DID NOT HOWEVER EFUTE THE PA'S COMMENT THAT MUCH MORE COULD BE DONE TO CONTROL
ILLEGAL MOVEMENT.
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CONFIDENTIAL
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