CONFIDENTIAL
populations of 242,000 and
Major engineering works and
147,000 are expected in the same
public housing construction
year.
to house
140,000 people by 1994 are underway in Junk Bay and the first
residents of the new town will move
engineering work
Territories where
in
by early 1987.
Advance
started at Tin Shui Wai in the north-western New
to reach 66,000 people
that area, which also
the population is expected
to over 700,000; and to
also by 1994. By 1995 the population in
includes Tuen Mun and Yuen Long, could rise
cater for the expected travel demand in this region, work on a Light
Rail Transit system linking Tuen Mun with Yuen Long
Long will
early next year.
commence
VII. VIETNAMESE REFUGEES
50.
Vietnamese refugees continued to arrive in Hong Kong, although
the "closed centre" policy, which the continuing flow of arrivals
together with the fall in the rate of overseas
compelled
was
the
resettlement
had
agree to adopt,
The rate of
1985 Her.
Hong Kong Government
to reluctantly
effective in reducing the size of the in flux.
resettlement remained disappointingly low. In September Majesty's Government jointly with the Hong Kong Government announced
several
at reducing the size of Hong Kong's refugee population: Her Majesty's Government would relax its family reunion
criteria
aimed measures
to
permit
500 some
refugees
in now
to
Hong Kong camps
settle in the United Kingdom; Her Majesty's Government would also consider accepting further limited numbers from Hong Kong depending
countries and the circumstances at the
time; and the Hong Kong Government would be prepared to consider
upon
the
accepting
response
a
limited
of
other
only as part of an
size of Hong Kong's
would mount
persuade
a
number of ethnic
Chinese
international effort
to
from the
but
reduce drastically the
camps,
effort to
Her Majesty's Government
use these decisions
to
refugee population. major diplomatic
other countries to offer more resettlement places to Hong.
Meanwhile Her Majesty's Government also announced thats
the to abandon
closed
Kong.
present circumstances do not make it possible
centre" policy.
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