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49
146467
MDHIAN 4323
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FM HONG KONG
TO DESKBY 24090OZ FCO
TELNO 2460
OF 24080OZ JULY 89
HKB 243130
27 JULNOJ
TOP COPY Q DIST ?
YOUR TELNO 1558: HONG KONG GOVERNMENT ACCOMMODATION PLANS FOR VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE: CONDITIONS IN THE CAMPS
1. WE AGREE GENERALLY WITH YOUR PROPOSED LINE, WHICH IS THE ONE WE ARE TAKING HERE.
2. YOU MAY WISH TO MAKE THE FOLLOWING ADDITIONAL POINTS:
(A) ARRIVALS SO FAR THIS YEAR ARE DOUBLE THE FIGURE FOR THIS TIME
LAST YEAR:
(B) THERE HAVE BEEN SOME 22,000 ARRIVALS IN THE LAST THREE MONTHS:
(C) PURPOSE-BUILT ACCOMMODATION FOR ABOUT 25,000 IS NOW IN THE COURSE OF CONSTRUCTIONS BUT MOST OF IT WILL BECOME AVAILABLE ONLY IN NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER:
(D) PEOPLE ARE ACCOMMODATED ON TAI A CHAU AND THE FERRIES ONLY TEMPORARILY FOR AT MOST A FEW WEEKS AFTER ARRIVAL UNTIL THEY CAN BE MOVED TO MORE PERMANENT ACCOMMODATION:
(E) WE INTEND TO DISPENSE WITH USING TAI A CHAU AND FERRIES AS SOON AS WE CAN. TIMING CLEARLY DEPENDS ON THE RATE OF ARRIVALS IN COMING MONTH, BUT WE EXPECT TO BE ABLE TO DO SO IN ABOUT NOVEMBER:
(F) MEANWHILE, WE ARE DOING WHAT WE CAN TO PROVIDE BETTER SHELTER AND SANITATION ARRANGEMENTS ON TAI A CHAU.
3. WE DO NOT THINK, HOWEVER, THAT YOU SHOULD SAY THAT IT WILL BE POSSIBLE TO DISPENSE WITH TENTS BY THE END OF THE YEAR. WE BELIEVE THAT SOME ARRIVALS WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE TO BE ACCOMMODATED IN TENTS AT SEK KONG AND HIGH ISLAND INTO NEXT YEAR, AND UNTIL SUCH TIME AS THE FLOW FROM VIETNAM TO HONG KONG IS REVERSED.
4. WE DO NOT THINK REFERENCE IS NECESSARY TO SAN YICK, UNLESS YOU ARE SPECIFICALLY ASKED ABOUT IT. NOW THAT THE POPULATION IN SAN YICK HAS BEEN REDUCED, AND PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO GO OUT TO WORK AND SCHOOL,
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