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