Mr. President. I ri.e today to introduce urgently iieeded legislation to increase the Hong Kong immigration quota. I am pleased to be joined in this important effort by my friends and colleagues Senators ALAN CRANSTON and ALAN DIXON. The legislation I am introducing today is the companion to a measure introduced by Representative NORMAN MINETA in the House. Mr. President. while this bill is precipitated in large part by the tragic and dangerous events in the Peoples Republic of China. my concern about immigration from Hong Kong is longstanding. In the 99th Congress. Senator DIXON and I added a provision to the immigration bill to raise the number of visas for all colonial territories from 600 to 5.000 per year. Prior to the enactment of the Hong Kong quota bill in 1986. Hong Kong received just 3 percent of the visas normally extended to foreign countries. It had a backlog of 32.000 people waiting for visas. some for as long as 12 years. Our bill enabled consular officials to reduce that wait significantly. Today. it is critical to review the situation with the Hong Kong quota again.
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immigration visas quota bill