Vol. 465 No. 6
84 Mr. Creed asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if his attention has been drawn to any difficulties being encountered by Irish citizens in Hong Kong who visit mainland China; and if his attention has further been drawn to the failure of the Chinese immigration authorities to clearly differentiate between Irish and British citizens. [10348/96]
Irish citizens in Hong Kong normally encounter no difficulty in visiting the People's Republic of China if they have visas in advance. I have no evidence that the Chinese immigration authorities are causing difficulties for Irish passport-holders by not differentiating between them and British passport-holders.
I am aware of one Irish citizen who was recently refused permission to travel from Hong Kong to China because he did not have a visa. The Chinese immigration authorities sometimes allow people to travel to China from Hong Kong and obtain visas at the airport on arrival. In the case in question, however, the pages in the passport of the Irish citizen in which a visa would normally be stamped were full. He sought the assistance of the Honorary Consul in Hong Kong who gave him a letter stating that a visa could be placed on the "observations" page of his passport. I understand, on that basis, he was allowed to travel to China.
