Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SW1A 2AH
HKD
50
From The Minister of State
The Hon Francis Maude MP
Greville Janner Esq QC MP House of Commons London
SW1A OAA
17 April 1990
HKB 243 It
ALCEIVED IND
OSMAY 1990
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Dear Greville
Thank you for your letter of 14 March to Douglas Hurd enclosing a copy of your letter of the same date to Geoff Barnes, the former Secretary for Security in Hong Kong, about conditions in the camps in Hong Kong.
I am quite sure that no discourtesy was intended in the reply you received from Hong Kong to your earlier letter. Geoff Barnes retired on 23 February, when Alistair Asprey took over. In the hiatus of the change over, I am afraid that a personal reply was probably overlooked. I understand that you have since received a letter from Mr Asprey which I hope answered your main concerns.
On the substance of your concerns, I would add a word in Hong Kong's defence. As you know, over 34,000 people poured in last year, completely overwhelming the existing facilities. At one stage it became necessary to leave newly arrived boats on the island of Tai A Chau until space became available elsewhere; but conditions deteriorated quickly, leading to an outbreak of cholera, and it became necessary to move people at once. The result was very severe overcrowding and an appalling strain on limited resources. The Hong Kong authorities had already embarked on an extensive (and expensive) programme of new building and, since overcrowding was seen as the prime cause of the poor conditions, the main priority was to create additional space. I am sure this was the right decision. Now that more space has been created, it has been possible to close the worst of the centres: ferries are no longer in use, and Sham Shui Po, in Kowloon, has been emptied. The Hong Kong authorities