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for this.
However, I should like to make it quite clear
that its internal affairs are first and formost a matter
for the Hong Kong Government to manage. Moreover,
Her Majesty's Government has every confidence in the Hong
Kong Government's ability to do this fairly and successfully.
Here I should like to pay a tribute to the role and record
of the Governor, Sir Murray MacLehose. His good sense and
balanced judgement during ten years of office have been a
major factor in providing a stable and fair society.
The problems, particularly those arising from population growth,
which Hong Kong has had to face in recent years, have been
enormous. I need only mention here the influx of an
estimated 180,000 illegal immigrants from China who entered
Hong Kong and more than 80,000 refugees from Vietnam
between the 1st of January 1979 and the 31st of December
1980. The fact that it has coped so well is truly remarkable evidence that our confidence is well placed.
Almost 260,000 housing units were built between 1973 and 1980. Gross National Product per capita rose by an average of
6.5 per cent per annum in the 1970's. Hong Kong's
achievements in providing housing, medical and health care,
education, assistance for the needy, recreational facilities
and generally the opportunity for its people to enjoy a full
/and satisfying
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