TNAG-0984-FCO40-1203-Immigration-from-China-to-Hong-Kong-1980 — Page 232

BY BAG

SECRET

布政司署

港下亞厘畢道

OUR REF.:

SCR 3/2091/79

NKK 341

aili

來函檔號 YOUR REF.;

RECEIVED IN REGISTRY NO. 51 16 OCT 1980

DESK OF IDEA INDEX

REGISTRY

PA

Mr. Robin McLaren

Топа

GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT

LOWER ALBERT ROAD

HONG KONG

18 October 1980

Far Eastern Department

FCO

I Kink it and be worth dropping o

X line to Mr. Orr magy which subjects

sayy

dealt with by HKGD

M

Taken

Mochapton X

13/100

Mr. Williamstone ..

*L13/10

a

Huang Hua and Immigration

195

You will have seen from our Telegram No. 1316 that the

•rather than Governor duly met Huang Hua at the airport on 3 October and had

FED.

On the

a brief exchange about illegal immigration.

2.

The Governor was giving a television interview that evening so I took his place in seeing off Huang at the airport. After about 30 minutes' general and pleasant chat in the VIP lounge, we had two odd exchanges in the car on the way to the mbslänu aircraft which I think I should report for the record. are must

oun

heep fingers

crossed

I wal

not put

3. One was on immigration. Huang said that there were too many people in Hong Kong. China did not approve of the numbers that had been arriving. It was not Chinese policy to flood

But China did believe in free movement Hong Kong with people. between Hong Kong and Guangdong. This point had come up in the 1950s when there was talk of a through train and he had been in The charge in Peking. It was a mateer of a "right" (quan li). measures the Governor had talked about to deal with immigration could only be "temporary".

4. Not wishing to get involved in a wrangle about the "rights" of Chinese to enter Hong Kong, I replied by saying I understood the Chinese position. What we were dealing with however was the problem of large-scale illegal movement. Hong Kong could not absorb the numbers involved. As I saw it, it was in fact a Huang agreed, said there was certainly a problem of a shortage of labour on the Chinese side

it pad The Chinese major problem for both sides.

ĥ raise and then dropped the subject.

objections

2"

They

Probably

beit

illogical,

to reening

back many

mine

people than before for a prolonged period,

131110

5. I am not sure precisely what lay behind Huang's remarks. were made in his "official" voice which is strikingly dissimilar from the conversational tone he had been using earlier. he thought he had to get on record the old point about free movement between Hong Kong and China. He seemed to be implying that the present problem of illegal movement must be considered as "temporary" since it only occurred as a result of restrictions (by the Chinese) on "normal" movement. Possibly he also thinks

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