CONFIDENTIAL
BACKGROUND NOTE
THE FUTURE OF HONG KONG
1. The Secretary of State raised the subject of confidence in
the future of Hong Kong during talks with Foreign Minister
Huang Hua and Party Vice-Chairman Deng Xiaoping. Both
firmly reiterated past assurances, first made by Deng to the Governor
of Hong Kong in Peking in 1979, that investors in Hong Kong should
'put their hearts at ease'.
ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION
2. Until October 1980, Chinese entering Hong Kong illegally from
China who succeeded in evading the security forces and reached the
Urban Area were allowed to remain. An estimated 70,000 did so in
1980. On 23 October 1980, the Governor announced a new policy of
repatriating all illegal immigrants. It is now compulsory to carry
an identity card, and the employment of illegal immigrants, or of
anyone without adequate proof of identity, is an offence. Reaction
to the to this policy has been favourable in both Hong Kong and
the United Kingdom.
VIETNAMESE REFUGEES
3. There are now around 17,000 Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong
waiting resettlement. The United Kingdom agreed at Geneva in 1979
to accept 10,000 such refugees in addition to the 1,000 accepted
earlier. About 9,000 of these resettlement places have been filled.
Signs are that the balance will take time to fill because of a
reluctance by the refugees to come to Britain. (Not to be
revealed)
Nevertheless, there is feeling in Hong Kong that there
should be a further United Kingdom quota which they see as essential
if other recipient countries, especially the United States, are
to be persuaded to continue off-take of refugees.
There are,
CONFIDENTIAL
/however,
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.