But
43. Much of the first draft of the Basic Law was in satisfactory
form. Some parts of it quoted the Joint Declaration verbatim.
it contained a number of deficiencies which were identified during
the consultation period. Although it is too soon to assess public reaction in Hong Kong, it is clear that the second draft contains
substantial improvements reflecting concerns expressed during the
first consultation period (Annex C to this Memorandum contains a
table, illustrating the areas of the draft Basic Law where
substantial improvements have already been made).
44.
The British Government will consider carefully, in the light of
reactions in Hong Kong in the course of the second round of public
consultation, what further views should be conveyed to the Chinese
authorities. A section which will be studied particularly closely
and which has already aroused controversy in Hong Kong is that on
the future constitutional structure. This is an area of particular
importance for confidence in Hong Kong.
X: Vietnamese Boat People
45. In accordance with the outcome of the United Nations Conference
on Indo-Chinese refugees held in Geneva in 1979, Hong Kong and so me countries in the region have provided temporary shelter to all boạt people arriving from Vietnam, on the understanding that they would eventually be resettled by the international community. Since 1975 some 133,000 boat people have arrived in Hong Kong from Vietnam, of
whom over 100,000 have been resettled abroad. In the years
immediately after the Geneva Conference, the number of boat people remaining in Hong Kong steadily diminished to a low of about 7,600 people in May 1987. In the past 2 years, however, the trend has reversed and the arrangements agreed at the Conference have come under increasing strain. In the summer of 1987 a new influx began, while the rate of resettlement fell. In 1988, 18,000 boat people arrived in Hong Kong; resettlement amounted to 2,700. By the end of February 1989, there were a total of some 26,000 Vietnamese refugees and boat people in refugee centres in Hong Kong. The prospect of an indefinite growth in the boat people population in Hong Kong is a source of great and mounting concern in the territory. Many Hong Kong people contrast the treatment of the boat people with that
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