Translation
1521/E/89
This letter dated 16.8.89 is addressed to the
Governor Sir David Wilson from Legco member Mr CHENG Tak-kin,
Urban Council member Mr FUNG Kwong-chung and nine other
members of the Wong Tai Sin district board.
The writers say the problem of Vietnamese boat
people has plagued Hong Kong for more than ten years and it
is no longer tolerable. Following the designation of Tai
Ah Chau as a temporary holding centre for Vietnamese boat
people which made the nearby fish culturists incur great
losses, a riot has broken out in Shamshuipo camp and
detainees are escaping from the Shek Kong detention centre.
The public are thrown into a panic and both the Police and
Correctional Services Department staff are weighed down
with work. What is more, the government ignores the
protests from the Sai Kung residents and insists on
building a detention centre at High Island Reservoir.
The writers point out Britain, being Hong Kong's
suzerain, has already made Hong Kong feel greatly disappointed
on the issue of right of abode in Britain. So it should
not sit idly and remain indifferent any more.
At present,
straned
crared in
more than 53,000 Vietnamese boat people are
Hong Kong. If Britain continues to allow Hong Kong to remain
as a port of first asylum, boat people will keep on coming
to Hong Kong in large numbers. Since 1979, the government has spent 1.8 billion dollars on the Vietnames refugees
and boat people. If this huge sum of money is used in
welfare services, it will bring more benefits to the public.
Hence, the writers strongly demand that: