TNAG-1197-FCO40-1499-Legal-immigration-into-Hong-Kong-1982 — Page 44

GR 380

CONFIDENTIAL

CONFIDENTIAL

FM PEKING 168620Z FEB 82

TO PRIORITY HONG KONG

TELNO 10 16 FEBRUARY

INFO PRIORITY F C 0.

3

HKK341/3

DECEIVED NI BY GO! 31

4 TEFA

YOUR TELNO 69: LEGAL IMMIGRATION

DESK OFFICER

INDEX

ISTRY

PA

Af 17

on

1. THE DESPALCH, WHICH WE HAVE NOW SEEN, IS AN IRRESPONSIBLE DISTORTIGN OF A BRIEFING GIVEN BY PEIRCE TO MICHAEL RANK OF REUTERS ON 10 FEBRUARY. RANK ASKED QUESTIONS ABOULT ALL ASPECTS OF EMIGRATION FROM CHINA (NOT ONLY TO HONG KONG) AND, INTER ALIA, RECALLED THAT THE LPS HAD MENTIONED IN HIS PRESS CONFERENCE HERE THAT THE MATTER OF LEGAL IMMIGRATION HAD BEEN RASIED DURING HIS TALKS WITH THE CHINESE. RANK ASKED WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS.

2. PEIRCE EXPLAINED THE PROBLEM IN GENERAL TERMS. APPROXIMATELY 55,000 PEOPLE WERE ADDED TO HONG KONG'S POPULATION EACH YEAR. A LARGE PROPORTION OF THESE WERE VISITORS'' WHO DID NOT RETURN HOME. WE WISHED TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF THOSE WHO CAME TO HONG KONG TO SETTLE. WHEN ASKED WHETHER AN AGREEMENT WITH THE CHINESE WAS LIKELY TO BE REACHED WITHIN MONTHS OR YEARS, PEIRCE SAID THAT HE (NEXT WORD UNDERLINED) HOPED IT WOULD BE WITHIN MONTHS. ASKED WHETHER WE AIMED TO CUT THE NUMBERS BY HALF, PEIRCE MERELY SAID THAT THAT WOULD BE A SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENT. THE SECOND SENTENCE OF PARA 1 OF TUR IS CLEARLY A DISTORTION OF THESE ANSWERS.

3. PEIRCE ASKED RANK TO ATTRIBUTE THE STORY, AS USUAL, ITO **DIPLOMATIC SOURCES AND NOT TO USE DIRECT QUOTES HE TOLD

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RANK THAT, AS THE MATTER WAS UNDER DISCUSSION WITH THE CHINESE, HE SHOULD USE DISCRETION IN ANYTHING HE MIGHT WRITE.

4. RANK HAS BEEN TOLD OF OUR ANNOYANCE AND DISAPPOINTMENT THAT THE MATERIAL WAS HANDLED IN THIS WAY, AND THAT A CONFIDENCE WAS BREACHED.

CRADOCK

MINIMAL

MVD

HK r GD

FED

Пузий

THIS TELEGRAM WAS NOT ADVANCED

Regishin 8. Well Cop done Af again that teas 17/2

Lead on this

Jnz

CONFIDENTIAL

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