ENG-1988 — Page 386

POPULATION AND IMMIGRATION

329

Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Macau and adjacent places form the largest community, followed by the Siyi group and the Chaozhou group. The remaining portion of the Chinese population in Hong Kong have their origin in other parts of Guangdong and other provinces of China.

Immigration Department

The work of the Immigration Department falls into two main streams – controlling people moving into and out of Hong Kong, and providing travel documents and registration facilities for local residents. The work embraces such diverse fields as the issue of travel documents, visas and identity cards, naturalisation, and the registration of births, deaths and marriages. Much effort also goes into the detection and prosecution of those who breach the immigration laws and the repatriation of those who are in Hong Kong illegally. Immigration policies are framed to limit permanent population growth, thus maintaining the stability and prosperity of the local community, and to control the entry of foreign workers, thus protecting the local labour force from unfair competition. Every effort is also made to streamline immigration procedures for Hong Kong residents, tourists and businessmen and to prevent the entry of undesirable persons and the departure of wanted for criminal offences, thereby contributing to the internal security and law and order of Hong Kong.

Immigration Control

persons

The number of passengers moving into and out of Hong Kong continued to increase, reaching new record levels. Passenger traffic in 1988 totalled some 60.2 million, an increase of 16.4 per cent compared with 51.7 million in 1987. The biggest increases were still in movements to and from China, up 6.4 million from 30.5 million in 1987, but other categories of travellers also showed sharp increases. A typical example was the number of visitors from Taiwan which shot up to 1.2 million from 0.42 million in 1987 following the lifting of the ban on direct travel to Hong Kong and China by the government of Taiwan. Arrangements for residents of China to visit Hong Kong were further extended. During year, there were 120 000 individual visitors and 110 000 visitors who travelled in groups. To cope with the increasing passenger traffic to and from China by sea, a new China Ferry Terminal at Tsim Sha Tsui came into operation on November 8, 1988, replacing the old terminal at Tai Kok Tsui and the temporary one at Central. Passenger clearance capacity at the airport was enhanced when more immigration counters were added in December 1988 as part of the airport extension project. Further improvement is expected in early 1989 when the extension project is fully completed.

the

The Easy Travel Scheme

Computerisation of immigration control, which was successfully introduced at the Hong Kong/Macau ferry terminals and the border crossing points in 1987, was further extended to the airport on August 1, 1988, and the new China Ferry Terminal on November 8, 1988, marking the completion of the computerisation programme for all existing control points. Known as the Easy Travel Scheme, it is designed to streamline and speed up passenger clearance processes at control points and activities in other areas. It has also contributed to the strengthening of immigration control and a higher degree of efficiency.

Hong Kong residents travelling with their Hong Kong identity cards are no longer required to complete arrival and departure cards. Most of them benefit further by not having to produce their travel documents for Hong Kong immigration examination.