GF 323
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CONFIDENTIAL #2
Information - L/M 1442
General
The group, comprising 15 ethnic Chinese and one ethnic Vietnamese arrived in Hong Kong on 16th July 1981 on board a wooden Chinese river rowing boat measuring 8 m x 2 m. Their departure point in China was Mafang (7456/ 2075), though all claimed an original intention of leaving China from Dawang Farm. However, from an unspecified time early in July 1981, Dawang had been declared a restricted area by the Chinese authorities, and even Overseas Chinese in possession of authority to visit relatives resident at Dawang were being refused acceɛs.
Information L/M 1442
Source Details and Access
2.
Source
Source was a 42 year old ethnic Chinese born in Haiphong. and his family left Vietnam in 1978 on foot via Friendship Pass, and were subsequently resettled on an Overseas Chinese Farm (OCF) at Pingxiang (0417/4382), Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
Escape Planning and Departure
3.
Source claimed that the hardships of life on OCF led him to think about leaving China. He was further motivated by stories he heard of the ease with which Overseas Chinese were able to make clandestine departures from Dawang Farm. In June 1981 Source organised a group of eight like-minded persons from his local area, and all arranged to travel to Dawang. Including Source's family, the total number in the group was 15.
4
On 11th July 1981,Source and his group arrived at Mafang, where they discovered that Dawang Farm had been put off limits to all except residents. Source claimed to be in possession of an official authority to visit relatives at Dawang, but that he still was not permitted to enter the area. Source then arranged to stay with unspecified friends at Mafang, where he was able to arrange the purchase of a boat suitable for his escape attempt. Source charged each member of his group RMB 120-180, depending on how well he knew the contributor, and collected a total of RMB 2000. He paid RMB 1300 to residents at Mafang ferry for the boat. On 13th July 1981, Source and his group left Mafang, employing motorised fishing boats to tow them towards Macau. During the course of the journey, the group was not stopped by either militia personnel or Public Security Bureau officers, however Source claimed that the group only travelled at night to avoid such an eventuality.
Information
4.
Source
Source claimed that the authorities at Dawang Farm would not allow any Overseas Chinese to leave, at least for the time being, and that this was now widely known amongst the Overseas Chinese community.
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