SECURITY
(a) Defence
79. The 1981 Defence Costs Agreement sets out the present understanding between Her Majesty's Government and the Hong Kong Government on the costs of the British Garrison stationed in Hong Kong, and the contribution which Hong Kong should pay towards its upkeep. Under the present Agree- ment, which will expire in March 1988, Hong Kong meets 75 per cent (presently some HK$1,500 million per annum) of the costs of the Garrison. A new Defence Costs Agreement will be required from April 1988 and preparations for the negotiations, which will take place during 1987, have begun.
(b) Illegal Immigration
80. The number of illegal immigrants attempting to enter Hong Kong continued to increase during 1986. Arrests during the year averaged 1,402 per month compared with 1,051 per month in 1985. The number of illegal immigrants evading immediate arrest but apprehended later within Hong Kong remained steady, at an average of 309 per month. While these statistics suggest that security along the land border and in coastal waters is proving generally effective, a cause of particular concern in the latter part of 1986, was a resurgence in the trafficking of child illegal immigrants to join parents already in Hong Kong. The number of illegal immigrant children reported to the Hong Kong Immigration Department for regularisation of stay jumped from an average of 20 per month, before August 1986, to over 200 in November. The methods used to smuggle children into Hong Kong often place their lives at risk. The Hong Kong Government is therefore monitoring the situation closely and consultations with the Chinese authorities have been held to try and halt the recent upsurge.
(c) Triads
81. In 1986 the Hong Kong Government launched a new initiative to combat organised crime in the territory and, in particular, the menace posed by triad societies. A discussion document entitled 'Options for Changes in the Law and in the Administration of the Law to counter the Triad Problem' was published in April and the public reaction to its proposals revealed a widespread demand, within the community, for sustained and determined action against triads. In the coming months the Hong Kong Government intends to take steps to implement those measures which received widespread public support. These include better protection for witnesses; one-way viewers for identification parades; thorough examination of the need for new laws to combat organised crime along the lines of those obtaining in the United States of America; stricter penalties for illegal gambling, vice and drug offences; and more extensive public education directed at young people to warn them of the evils of triads. For rehabilitation of triad offenders, a triad renunciation scheme will
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