CONFIDENTIAL
5. YESTERDAY THERE WAS A GATHERING OF SOME 250 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FROM MACAU WHO PRESENTED A PETITION TO THE GOVERNOR SEEKING AN UNQUALIFIED ASSURANCE THAT THEY WOULD NOT BE RETURNED. THIS WAS REFUSED. A CROWD OF THEM GATHERED AGAIN THIS MORNING, THOUGH NOT AT GOVERNMENT HOUSE, AND WERE ADDRESSED BY AN URBAN COUNCILLOR (MARIA TAM) WHO UNDERTOOK TO PRESENT THEIR INDIVIDUAL CASES TO THE AUTHORITIES. THEY THEN DISPERSED.
6. THE LINE WE ARE TAKING IS THAT NO BLANKET AMNESTY CAN BE GIVEN
BUT THAT EACH CASE WILL BE CONSIDERED SYMPATHETICALLY ON ITS MERITS, INCLUDING LENGTH OF STAY, FAMILY CIRCUMSTANCES, AGE, STATE OF HEALTH ETC. WE ARE POINTING OUT THAT, IN THE LAST TWO YEARS, OF THE 22,000 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN THIS CATEGORY WHO HAVE COME TO NOTICE, ONLY 1,700 HAVE BEEN SENT BACK, OR HAVE RETURNED, TO THEIR PLACES OF ORIGIN, IN ORDER TO SAFEGUARD SUCH PERSONS
STATUS AND JOBS FOR THE TIME BEING, THEY ARE BEING ADVISED TO REPORT TO IMMIGRATION DEPARTMENT TODAY, IF THEY HAVE NOT ALREADY DONE SO. THEY WILL THUS BE ABLE TO OBTAIN DOCUMENTATION WHICH WILL ENABLE THEM TO KEEP THEIR JOBS UNTIL THEIR CASES ARE DECIDED.
7. THERE HAVE BEEN SEPARATE APPROACHES TO THE DIRECTOR OF IMMIGRATION BY THE COMMISSIONER FOR INDIA AND A LEADING MEMBER OF
THE INDIAN COMMUNITY (HARILELA). SO FAR THE NUMBER OF INDIAN NATIONALS AFFECTED SEEMS RELATIVELY FEW (A MAXIMUM OF 150). ALL THE COMMISSIONER SOUGHT WAS AN ASSURANCE (WHICH WAS GIVEN) THAT
INDIAN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS WOULD NOT BE TREATED DIFFERENTLY FROM THOSE FROM OTHER PLACES (E.G. MACAU). HARILELA SEEMED HAPPY ON BEING TOLD THAT, PROVIDED THE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS CAME FORWARD TO IMMIGRATION DEPARTMENT TO REGISTER THEIR PRESENCE, THEY WOULD NOT BE REMOVED SUMMARILY AND COULD CONTINUE TO WORK WHILE THEIR CASES
WERE BEING EXAMINED IN A REASONABLY SYMPATHETIC WAY.
MACLEHOSE
LIMITED
HK & GD (4) FED
PS
PS/IPS
PS/PUS
SIB Z TOIDE MR DONALD
2
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COPIES TO:
HONG KONG GOVERNMENT OFFICE,
LONDON
CONFIDENTIAL
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