TNAG-0984-FCO40-1203-Immigration-from-China-to-Hong-Kong-1980 — Page 24

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certain specified proofs of identity.

Honourable Members we cannot stand by and accept

the indefinite continuation of a high level of illegal

immigration while Hong Kong standards are steadily eroded,

and it loses its prospect of being the place its residents

and its Government are so anxious to make it, and also

the place which could contribute so much and so willingly

to the modernisation of Guangdong. Therefore the

measures we are proposing are essential; but they will

become irksome with time. It is irksome to have to remember

to carry an identity card or some other form of identification

and to produce it if asked. It is irksome for employers

to have to check that employees have identity cards or certain

other forms of identification. It will be distressing when

friends and relatives from China enter illegally and have

to be turned away. But if this movement is to be halted

as it must be, a very clear message must get back from

Hong Kong to the communes that the door is closed, and even

if evaded leads only to a dead end without either profit

or safety. This message must get back clearly, We must

not allow it to be obscured by criminal abettors, the faint

or soft hearted or the grasping or inefficient employer.

If that message gets back and is understood, then our

problem should be solved. I therefore appeal to all members

of the public to do everything they can as responsible

citizens to play their part in enforcing these measures,

and to assist the Police and Labour officers and Immigration