- 5 -
cordons is largely the desire for money through obtaining
work and wages in Hong Kong. This assumption that life
in Hong Kong will be so much better for the illegal
immigrant and for those to whom he plans to make remittances
must be eliminated. This means that the prospect of
obtaining legal work must be removed.
The legislation
before you therefore makes it a crime punishable with
a heavy fine or imprisonment to employ an illegal immigrant
defined as someone without an identity card or other specified
document.
Neither the ending of the "reached base" policy nor
the denial of work, can be enforced against illegal.
immigrants unless all legal residents of Hong Kong can
readily be identified.
Consequently the carriage of
identity cards or some other specified means of identification,
and their production on demand by authorised persons, becomes
essential. Thus it is proposed that failure to do so
should be an offence - as it is already in most of the New
Territories.
So if the measures before Honourable Members are
accepted and implemented an illegal immigrant who has
reached Hong Kong after today will be liable to arrest
anywhere in Hong Kong and removal, and it will be a crime
to employ him. He will be seen to be an illegal immigrant
because he has no identity card, or proof of application
for one, or other specified proof of identity.
In order to avoid retrospective action, we propose
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.