TNAG-0941-FCO40-1160-Visit-by-Lord-Carrington--Secretary-of-State-for-Foreign-and-1980 — Page 93

CONFIDENTIAL

ESSENTIAL FACTS

Functions of Visa Office

1.

Establishment of a Chinese Visa Office in Hong Kong was

approved last year. This was agreed on the understanding that

the Office would not be any form of official Chinese representation

and would only handle visa work.

Political and other contacts

would continue to be handled by the New China News Agency (NCNA).

Privileges

2. The staff for the Office are now in Hong Kong. The Chinese

raised in Hong Kong the question of diplomatic privileges for their

staff. The Chinese Ambassador subsequently raised it with the

Governor when he met him in London on 6 August.

3.

We have already told the Chinese that the following privileges

can be granted:

a) exemption from tax of the revenues of the Visa Office

from visa fees;

b) exemption from tax of the salaries of the China-based

staff of the Office;

c) secure cypher communications;

d) secure courier service;

e) exemption of the documents, files and official premises of

the Office from search;

f) exemption of China-based staff and their dependents from

arrest and detention.

(a) to (d) can be granted unconditionally under the Governor's

prerogative; (e) and (f) can in practice be applied although

according to the strict letter of the law there could be circum-

stances in which the courts mightorder the arrest of a member of

the Visa Office.

CONFIDENTIAL

14.