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redevelopment schemes, either alone or
owners.
in partnership with existing
The Provisional Board of the Corporation was formed in
September and the planning
the first urban renewal
projects is
already underway.
ΧΙ
VIETNAMESE REFUGEES
76.
During 1986 major
resettlement of Vietnamese
Following the decision by Her Majesty's Government in September 1985 to accept some 500 refugees from Hong Kong for family reunion in the
United Kingdom under relaxed criteria, a diplomatic campaign was
mounted by Her Majesty's Government, supported by the Hong Kong
Government, to persuade other countries to offer more resettlement
places to Hong Kong
Many countries responded possitively,
including Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France,
Luxembourg, the Netherlands New Zealand, Norway and Sweden.
efforts were made to speed up the
refugees
in
camps in Hong Kong.
For
its part the Hong Kong Government decided to accept 250 more refugees of Chinese origin for local settlement.
77.
In response to a request made by the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees,
Refugees, the Hong Kong Government also agreed, in
February 1986, to establish a transit centre in Hong Kong, to help
facilitate the resettlement of refugees rescued a t sea under the
International Rescue at Sea Resettlement Offers scheme.
78.
there
eleven However,
is
years after
the end of
the war
in
Vietnam
still no durable solution in sight to the problem of the
continuing exodus of refugees. During 1986 the number of Vietnamese
This was refugees arriving in Hong Kong doubled compared with 1985. the first time that the rate of arrivals in the territory had
increased since the implementation of the closed centre policy in
July 1982
resettlement
the number
Much of the benefit from an improved rate of
in 1986 was thus cancelled out by the large increase in
of new arrivals in Hong Kong. Further, although some 3,816 refugees were resettled from Hong Kong in 1986 this level is
unlikely to be maintained in 1987. The efforts of Her Majesty's
resettlement thus brought
Government and
the Hong Kong Government
a
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