TNAG-1789-FCO40-2549-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-general-1989 — Page 273

HONG KONG

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 香港立法局——

————————一九八八年十一月二日

2 November 1988

10

Oral answers to questions

Relaxation of the closed camp policy

1.

MR. DAVID CHEUNG asked: Will Government inform this Council whether the relaxation of the Vietnamese closed camps policy would have implications on the maintenance of law and order in the community and, if so, what measures would be taken to ensure that the quality of public order would not be adversely affected?

SECRETARY FOR SECURITY: Sir, the presence of additional Vietnamese refugees in the community will have some implications for law and order but the extent of these are impossible to predict. We shall obviously have to see how the situation develops while at the same time taking certain precautionary steps.

Through the district police commanders and their police community relations officers, we have introduced for Vietnamese refugees an education programme of live and video-taped lectures on the laws of Hong Kong, highlighting the refugees responsibilities in the reporting of crime, crime prevention, road safety and many other aspects of life in Hong Kong with which the refugees will come into contact when they leave the camps. These programmes will be operated in all former closed centres.

As the camps are liberalized additional police resources will be deployed to ensure sufficient police beat patrols. For example, both Tuen Mun and Castle Peak Divisions are being strengthened to provide additional coverage of areas close to the camps and busy parts of the town. District commanders will keep a close watch on developments and will deploy further manpower as necessary.

It would be wrong in my view for there to be any general expectation that public order will be adversely affected as a result of the relaxation of the closed camp policy. It has to be remembered that the overall numbers of refugees are relatively small and most of them are law-abiding.

We shall inevitably have to rely on the good sense of the community in general to assist refugees who may, to begin with, not be fully familiar with our ways of life and perhaps some of the concepts of law and order which we take for granted. The programmes being undertaken by the police will be reinforced by programmes of other agencies which will, I am sure, be welcomed by the refugees as part of the trust we are putting in them in relaxing the closed centre restrictions.