ENG-1962 — Page 262

LAW, ORDER AND RECORDS

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stay allowed is 14 days. Parties must consist of not fewer than 10 people and not more than 100. The tourists must also travel as a group, i.e., enter and leave by one carrier. It is hoped this system will stimulate the tourist trade. (b) Immigration officers can now be sent by air at the expense of the shipping company concerned to Bangkok or Manila, in order to carry out immigration clearance of cruise ships (which often carry more than a thousand passengers) while en route to Hong Kong. This system not only enables a more thorough check of documents to be carried out, but also removes the need for ships to anchor in Kowloon Bay for clearance.

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(c) Two revised forms of travel document, a re-entry permit and a certificate of identity, were introduced in November. Both are valid for three years initially, but are renewable for up to a further 12 years. There has been a heavy demand for these documents, which are in book form. Documents valid for a single journey are still available at a reduced fee the re-entry permit valid for three months and the cer- tificate of identity valid for a year.

The usual concessions were made to enable school children and students attending schools and colleges in China and Macau to visit their families in Hong Kong during the Chinese New Year and school summer holidays. It became apparent during the year, however, that these concessions by which entry to the Colony was secured merely by production of a letter of introduction from the school authorities had been widely abused. Many entered who did not have parents here, and who were not bona fide students. Between 8th July and 30th August no fewer than 11,121 young people entered Hong Kong under these arrangements, and it is now obvious that of these more than 10,000 do not intend to return. Arrangements have now been made to tighten control on this traffic.

The number of White Russians leaving China for settlement overseas, usually in South America, Australia, or Europe, greatly increased during 1962. A total of 1,611 Russians entered the Colony during the year under the sponsorship of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Their onward passage