TNAG-1097-FCO40-1347-Chinese-visa-office-in-Hong-Kong-1982 — Page 86

པཏྟབྦཱ, ཙ སཏྟ པན་ ར་ད“ག་

CONFIDENTIAL

५

In the course of several meetings between British

and Chinese representatives held in London and Peking from

1979 to 1981 on matters relating to the proposed Visa Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in Hong Kong, the following understanding was reached,

(i) In order to meet the growing need for

economic, trade, tourist, cultural and other exchanges the Chinese side and

the British authorities in Hong Kong orally agreed on 9 August 1979 that the Chinese' side was to set up in

Hong Kong a Visa Office of the Ministry

of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic

of China..

:

(ii) To ensure the smooth functioning of the

said Visa Office in Hong Kong, it will enjoy the following privileges:

(a) exemption from taxes on its

revenue (e.g. from visa fees),

4

(b)

the right to use cypher

(c)

exemption from taxes on salaries

or emoluments of its China-based

officials and staff members,

(d) courier service to be exempt from

search,

.(e)

the premises, documents and

archives to be exempt from

search, and

CONFIDENTIAL

/(f)