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18. Hong Kong, which is already overcrowded, is bearing
a particularly heavy burden in coping not only with a
steady stream of Vietnamese who arrive there directly in
their own junks (or who have been rescued at sea and brought there by merchant vessels), but also with a daily flow of immigrants from China. On top of this, there is
the problem of coping with groups of refugees who have
gone. first to China then on to Hong Kong. Immigration
from China is currently running at over 100,000 a year.
The Colony's population has grown from about 600,000 in
1945 to 4.7 million now. Immigration on this scale, if
allowed to continue, will put at risk much of the progress
now being made in Hong Kong on the provision of housing,
education facilities and other social services.
11.9.
The Hong Kong Government's policy has been to allow
all those who make their way to Hong Kong in their own
boats to land temporarily until they can be resettled
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CONFIDENTIAL
Dd 0532000 400 M 5/78 HMSO Bracknell