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Governor: Well, I don't think that Gladys Li, the distinguished lawyer or anybody else has suggested for one moment that the legislative proposals which are at present being discussed by the Legislative Council are in any way contrary to the common law or to the international covenants which we've signed up to. What we are attempting to do is to clarify the situation at a time of some difficulty and to clarify what it actually means when the Vietnamese reject a returning migrant rather than are thought to be rejecting a returning migrant. That seems to me to be a perfectly sensible response of us to the Privy Council ruling. It's not a blanket attempt to extend people in the camps regardless of habeas corpus; it's an attempt to clarify the position between us and the government in Vietnam.

Question: Why should they stay in detention while Hanoi is making ...?

and

you

could

could Governor: But you

that about everyone say

say how do we know which of the seven, eight, ten, eighteen thousand are going to be accepted back or not. I mean that is a way if you don't mind me saying so in which you drive a complete coach and horses through the system that we are trying decently and fairly to put in place for returning the Vietnamese migrants to Vietnam, which is the only possible, civilised end to this very difficult problem.

End

Tung Chung New Town taking shape

The Tung Chung New Town, designed as an airport supporting community and the ninth new town in Hong Kong, is taking shape, the Director of Territory Development. Mr Lee Shing-see said today (Tuesday).

"The airport-related facilities such as the Tung Chung Station, road links to the airport, public housing development and sewage treatment facilities are all well under way on the newly formed Phase 1 area, while the Phase 2 reclamation is in progress.

"All the essential infrastructures will be completed on time for the public housing intake by mid-1997," he said.

Mr Lee was speaking at the Department's annual meet-the-media session held this afternoon at the works site of the Tung Chung New Town Development Phase | on Lantau Island.