WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 1994
HELD. WITH
TOUCHING
THEY
THE WHO
THEY
NICE FROM
GOVERNOR: WE BELIEVE THAT EVERYONE WHO'S IN THE CAMP IS LEGALLY IF THERE ARE CHALLENGES TO ANY INDIVIDUALS, WE WILL HAVE TO DEAL
COMMUNITY HAS BEEN EXTREMELY TO REPEAT. THIS I JUST WANT THEM.
THE SERIOUS PROBLEM OF TOLERANT IN THE WAY THAT IT'S DEALT WITH VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE. PEOPLE WHO IN MANY CASES GOT HERE, DOWN,
GOING ON SHORE ELSEWHERE ON ROUTE, LET'S NOT FORGET THAT, ARRIVE IN HONG KONG IN VERY LARGE NUMBERS AND WE HAVE COPED WITH PROBLEM
WELL, FIRMLY BUT FAIRLY, SOME OF THOSE EXTRAORDINARILY
HONG
FIND KONG NOW
THEMSELVES FACING SIMILAR CRITICISE USED TO
WE'VE PROBLEMS AND I THINK THEY ARE MORE UNDERSTANDING NOW OF THE WAY
SERVICES DEALT WITH THINGS HERE. THE JOB WHICH THE CORRECTIONAL DEPARTMENT HAVE TO DO, THE JOB WHICH THE POLICE HAVE TO DO WHEN ARE MOVING VIETNAMESE MIGRANTS IS NOT A PLEASANT ONE. IT'S NOT A ONE. THERE ARE SOMETIME MISTAKES BUT BY AND LARGE, WE'VE LEARNED THOSE MISTAKES AND WE DO THE JOB AS WELL AS ANYBODY IN THE WORLD WOULD CAMPS DO IT. IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN THE HAS FALLEN FROM 65 000 TO ABOUT 25 000, ONE OF THE REASONS WHY PEOPLE HAVE BEEN VOLUNTEERING TO GO HOME WHEN THEY'VE BEEN SCREENED OUT IS BECAUSE WE'VE ALSO BEEN RUNNING THE MANDATORY REPATRIATION PROGRAMME. A THIS YEAR, THE MANDATORY REPATRIATION PROGRAMME WAS SUSPENDED FOR FEW MONTHS FOR REASONS WHICH YOU ALL UNDERSTAND AND I THINK ONE RESULT FELL DURING THAT OF THAT WAS THAT VOLUNTARY REPATRIATION FIGURES PERIOD. NOW WE'VE STARTED THE MANDATORY PROGRAMME AGAIN. WE INTEND
PROGRAMME, 1 000 THE CONTINUE
MANDATORY PROGRAMME AND UNDER THAT
THE THAT
MANDATORY HOME. I THINK ALREADY PEOPLE HAVE
RETURNED PROGRAMME IS ENCOURAGING OTHERS TO RETURN HOME VOLUNTARILY. 260 RETURN IN HOME TODAY. WE VERY MUCH HOPE THAT A FURTHER 800 WILL BE RETURNING DECEMBER. THAT'S HOW WE INTEND TO CONTINUE, TAKING A FIRM LINE BUT
IN WHICH FAIR LINE AND THAT IS THE SORT OF DECENT AND COMPETENT WAY
VERY DIFFICULT PEOPLE WOULD EXPECT US IN HONG KONG TO DEAL WITH THE PROBLEM, WHICH THE COMMUNITY HAS BEEN VERY LONG SUFFERING IN WITH.
A
DEALING
QUESTION: MR PATTEN, HAVE YOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT THE LUNG LAU REPORT TODAY?
KWUN
GOVERNOR: I HAD A BRIEF DISCUSSION WITH PROFESSOR MORGENSTERN ABOUT IT THE AT 2.15 THIS AFTERNOON. HE CAME AND PRESENTED ME WITH A COPY OF
MAIN FINDINGS AND ON HIS THE A BRIEF ON REPORT AND GAVE ME
OF ALL, THE RECOMMENDATIONS. I'D LIKE TO SAY THREE THINGS. FIRST GOVERNMENT AND, INDEED, THE WHOLE COMMUNITY SHOULD BE VERY GRATEFUL TO FOR HIS DONE, THAT HE'S FOR THE WORK MORGENSTERN PROFESSOR
GREAT DEAL ABOUT THE THOROUGHNESS AND FOR HIS SPEED. HE KNOWS A PROBLEM OF LANDSLIDES IN HONG KONG BECAUSE OF HIS PAST EXPERIENCE HELPING US COPE WITH THE PROBLEM PARTICULARLY IN THE 1970S. HE IS PLEASED THAT INTERNATIONAL EXPERT IN
THIS AREA AND I WAS VERY AGREED TO UNDERTAKE THIS ONEROUS WORK. SECONDLY AND OBVIOUSLY, JAMES BLAKE AND OTHERS HAVE ONLY HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A LOOK, A QUICK LOOK AT THE REPORT BUT WE MUST OBVIOUSLY DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO IMPLEMENT ITS RECOMMENDATIONS AS RAPIDLY AS POSSIBLE AND
IMPLEMENT INTEND TO DO THAT. WE'LL STUDY THE REPORT AND THEN WE WILL
IN
AN
HE
I AND CURSORY
WE
MUST
ITS RECOMMENDATIONS AS FAST AS WE CAN. THIRDLY, ONE REASON WHY WE DO THAT IS IN ORDER TO TRY TO ENSURE TRAGEDIES LIKE THAT NOT HAPPENING THE AGAIN IN THE FUTURE. WE OWE IT NOT ONLY TO THOSE WHO SUFFERED IN
WHO MAY BE TRAGEDY A FEW MONTHS AGO, WE ALSO OWE IT TO ALL THOSE
WHEN WORRIED ABOUT SLOPES IN THEIR OWN VICINITY OR NEIGHBOURHOOD AND
ANXIOUS ABOUT THE IT RAINS HEAVILY IN HONG KONG, START TO FEEL CONSEQUENCES FOR THEM. SO, I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT WE'LL BE IMPLEMENTING THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE BUT, SINCE I'VE ONLY ABOUT
TWENTY FIVE MINUTES WITH PROFESSOR MORGENSTERN TO LOOK REPORT, I AM SURE YOU WON'T EXPECT ME TO SAY MORE IN DETAIL.
HAD
AT
THE
/QUESTION