GF 323
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5
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14.
The Political Adviser has already taken preliminary soundings. In Peking on 24 August, the Assistant Foreign Minister, SONG Zhiguang, expressed recognition of Hong Kong's problem and added that the Chinese authorities were continuing to take measures to deal with it. He then said that Hong Kong should return overstayers. Likewise, the Governor of Guangdong advised the Political Adviser on 8 October that overstayers should be sent back and specific ways of doing this could be dis- cussed. But he suggested (possibly with "transitees" in mind) that they be handled with restraint: they were, he said, in a different category to illegal immigrants. referred in addition to the enormous pressure on the Chinese authorities for permits to visit relatives in Hong Kong. The NCNA in speaking to the Political Adviser were rather more cautious, and, while not dissenting from the view that overstayers should be returned, foresaw practical difficulties.
15.
He
It is proposed that the substantive approach to the Chinese be made first to the NCNA locally and then in Peking and Guangzhou. Peking is included partly because many legal immigrants come from elsewhere than Guangdong (with Fujian Province - the origin of a quarter of them proving particularly unco-operative over limiting the period of validity of visitors' permits). But, in addition, triple approach would provide a greater degree of confirm- ation of the Chinese attitude and strengthen our hand if, after the scheme had been launched, we had to exert press- ure on the Chinese in order to keep them up to undertakings they had given.
16.
a
In these approaches to the Chinese, we should first explain the difficulties which the settlement of immigrants from China arriving at a rate of 150 a day are causing us, including the point in which the Chinese have a particular interest, namely the possible effect on social and economic stability (see para 9). We should then outline what we have in mind and seek the following assurances:-
(i)
(ii)
that the Chinese would continue to restrict the level of legal emigration to the present 150 a day;
that, of this number, not more than half should be given one-way permits. (This is somewhat less than the present proportion but seems a reasonable level to aim at. The proportion is however
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