TNAG-1281-FCO40-1632-Chinese-visa-office-in-Hong-Kong-1983 — Page 103

CONFIDENTIAL

CHINESE VISA OFFICE DRAFT UNDERSTANDING

1. The Chinese and British representatives held talks in Beijing

in 1983 on matters relating to the Visa Office of the Ministry of

Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in Hong Kong and

reached the following understanding which is additional to the

understanding recorded in the memorandum of 23 September 1981.

2. The Visa Office will enjoy the following privileges and immunities in addition to those set out in paragraph 2 (A) to (C) of the memorandum

of 23 September 1981:-

(1) Inviolability of its premises, documents and archives.

(2) Exemption from taxation on its premises and on the residence

of the officer in charge.

(3) Personal inviolability of its officers and their dependents,

who will not be subject to arrest or detention in any form.

The qualification contained in paragraph 3 of the British

memorandum of 19 June 1981 is withdrawn by the British side.

(4) Immunity for its officers from the jurisdiction of the

judicial and administrative authorities to the extent provided

for consular officers in article 43 of the Vienna Convention

on Consular Relations.

*

(5) Exemption from customs duties on goods imported into, exported

from and purchased in Hong Kong for official use and on

goods imported into, exported from and purchased in Hong Kong

by its officers for their own private use.

(6) Exemption of the luggage of its officers from search except

where there are serious grounds for inferring that it contains

articles whose import or export is prohibited by the local law

or controlled by the local quarantine regulations, in which case

search should be carried out only in the presence of the

officers concerned or representatives appointed by them.

(7) In this paragraph the term 'officers' means officers who are

holders of diplomatic, official or service passports of the

People's Republic of China,and the privileges and immunities

conferred by this paragraph will be enjoyed only by such

officers.

CONFIDENTIAL

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