CONFIDENTIAL
become vital - hence the request for funds set out below. The senior member of LegCo has said that mandatory repatriation must begin before the end of this month.
10. With regard to obtaining additional funds for the development of camps from the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council, the Governor considers that there is absolutely no prospect of such a proposal succeeding. I entirely endorse his view and indeed during Mr Maude's visit, Legislative Councillors made this clear.
11 Set alongside all these problems is the fact that to date, only 264 Vietnames boat people have returned voluntarily to Vietnam. There are now over 2,500 Vietnamese boat people finally screened out who have no chance of going to a third country. This number is growing by 300 a week. So far only 34 in this category have volunteered. Eventually there will be at least 37,000 Vietnamese boat people in Hong Kong with nowhere to go except back to Vietnam.
12. It is against this background that I am now seeking additional funds of £5.6m for the completion of emergency accommodation work. The original sum of £4.5m was intended to provide accommodation for some 23,000 persons in three camps (Sek Kong, High Island and Whitehead), for the hire of ferries (for 2,500 persons), costs incurred by the Garrison, and for MOD and ODA tents. The assumed exchange rate was HKD 12-£1. In the event this amount has proved inadequate for five main
reasons:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(a)
to
pay for
to deter Vietnamese boat people from scaling the perimeter fences it has been proved necessary to erect a much more substantial security fence the same lines as that on the Hong Kong/Chinese border;
on
because of the continued high rate of influx and low prospect of repatriation on a significant scale, it has become necessary to build the High Island camp on a much more permanent basis than originally envisaged;
additional measures, such as a raised concrete base for tents at Shek Kong, are required so that the camps can withstand severe weather conditions, eg typhoons;
ferries have had to be used for a longer period than was originally anticipated; and