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BRITAIN'S COMMITMENT TO HONG KONG
DSR 11C (Revised 5/87)
15.
Despite the solid achievements we have made so far
in securing a stable and prosperous future for Hong Kong,
the local community remain understandably unsure and
nervous about their future and about Britain's continuing
commitment to Hong Kong. Reassuring the local community
or
that Britain is not ducking its responsibilities,
seeking to disengage from Hong Kong as soon as is
conveniently possible, will be a major task in the run up
to 1997. This will require tact and sensitivity in
demonstrating that we understand the problems that matter
most to the local community. It will also require a
readiness by HMG to play our full part, and to be seen to
be doing so, in helping the Hong Kong authorities to
tackle these problems.
VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE
16.
Since 1979, Hong Kong has given temporary asylum to
over 130,000 Indo Chinese refugees, of whom well over
100,000 have been resettled abroad. The number of boat
people in Hong Kong had been steadily diminishing until
1987, when a new exodus began.
people arrived in Hong Kong:
camps is now about 25,000.
In 1988, 18,000 boat
the total population in the
That has created a major
political problem in Hong Kong: it is a source of deep
and growing concern amongst Hong Kong people and there is
much resentment over the marked contrast between the
policy of giving asylum to all boat people and the prompt
4.