ENG-1967 — Page 210

11

Immigration and Tourism

THIS has been a year of intense activity for the Immigration Department. The normal pattern of work was affected by unsettled conditions in China, the political troubles in Portuguese Macau, and the disturbances in Hong Kong itself. The border, harbour, British and Commonwealth, and Chinese sections in particular were subjected to heavy pressure, further increased in the latter case by the decision to close the permit office in Macau at the end of May because of anti-British demonstrations there. The office was re- established in Immigration Headquarters in Hong Kong at 48 hours notice. This increased the congestion in the headquarters offices, which are visited by about 3,000 people every day, and towards the end of the year the accommodation was extended.

Recorded movements of travellers during 1967 totalled 3,703,756, consisting of 1,858,624 arrivals and 1,845,132 departures. This compares with a total of 4,612,631 in 1966. The main lines of movement, as usual, were between Hong Kong and Macau and, to a lesser degree, Hong Kong and China, although this traffic was materially reduced because of political uncertainty. Illegal immigration, although at first slightly less than in previous years, continued to present a problem, and towards the end of the year was showing signs of increasing.

The Chinese Section was faced this year with a big demand by local residents for travel documents with the result that a record number of Certificates of Identity were issued. In addition, many overseas Chinese wanted to visit or live in the Colony. The demand for re-entry permits, valid only for travel to China and Macau, was substantially reduced. Special arrangements were again made for children from schools in China and Macau to visit their relatives in Hong Kong, but in fact very few children arrived from China. The British and Commonwealth Section experienced its busiest year in memory, because of an unprecedented demand for passports (stocks became so low that further supplies had to be airfreighted

Page 210Page 211