TNAG-0906-FCO40-1116-Immigration-from-China-to-Hong-Kong-1979 — Page 65

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FM HONG KONG 201050Z OCT

* DESK OFFICER

INDEX

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207

*

TO PRIORITY FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE TELEGRAM NUMBER 1464 OF 20 OCTOBER, 1979

MO

122/

INFO PRIORITY PEKING AND ROUTINE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT OFFICE

LONDON.

(205

YOUR TELNO 850 AND PEKING TELNOS 925 AND 926: IMMIGRATION

FROM CHINA.

208

1. THE ENCOURAGEMENT TO BE DERIVED FROM THE CHINESE ASSURANCE

ABOUT PASSPORT HOLDERS WITHOUT ONWARD VISAS IS SMALL. AS A

RESULT OF CONSTANT REPRESENTATIONS, NUMBERS IN THIS GROUP WERE

ALREADY BEING BROUGHT UNDER CONTROL BY THE CHINESE FROM THE VERY HIGH LEVEL OF LATE LAST YEAR. THERE HAVE BEEN ONLY ABOUT 1,400 THIS YEAR OUT OF A TOTAL OF NEARLY 59,000 LEGAL IMMIGRANTS. AGREEMENT ON RETURNING THESE PEOPLE WILL NOT THEREFORE HAVE ANY SIGNIFICANT EFFECT ON THE OVERALL FIGURE, CONTRARY TO PARA 2 OF PEKING'S T.U.R., AND I TRUST THAT NO ONE IS UNDER ANY ILLUSION THAT THE ASSURANCE GIVEN 'MEANS THAT NUMBERS ARE GOING TO COME DOWN CLOSE TO 100 A DAY

NOT FAR OFF THE DESIRED LEVEL.'' ALL THE EVIDENCE IS THAT THE CHINESE ARE CONTINUING TO AIM ON A DAILY AVERAGE OF ABOUT 150. THIS IS FAR TOO HIGH.

....

ļ

2. HOWEVER I CAN UNDERSTAND THAT YOU MAY FEEL THAT THIS MISSIVE. IS TOO NEAR TO HUA'S VISIT. IF SO IT MUST BE SHELVED PENDING ASSESSMENT OF THE RESULTS OF THE VISIT.

MACLEHOSE

FILES

нкада MVD. PUSA

MR CORTAZZ.1.

MR MURRAY

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