TNAG-2032-FCO40-2895-Visit-by-Douglas-Hurd--Secretary-of-State-for-Foreign-and-Co-1990 — Page 125

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Hong Kong cannot be expected to cope indefinitely with

an endless stream of immigrants from Vietnam, most of

whom have no prospect of ever finding a home in the

West. It is therefore imperative that we find

effective ways of deterring this futile exodus and that

we empty the camps as quickly as possible.

has shouldered this burden for too long.

Hong Kong

I turn now to the Basic Law. The drafting process has

reached a crucial phase. Throughout this process, Hong

Kong people have expressed their opinions about the

draft in a thorough and constructive way. I

congratulate them on what I believe has been a mature

response from an increasingly mature political

community. The views of this community deserve the

closest possible attention from those responsible for

drafting the Basic Law.

The outcome of this process is a matter of major

concern to the British Government. It will be a

Chinese law. But our responsibilities as

co-signatories of the Joint Declaration mean that we

have the greatest possible interest in a law intended

to implement the provisions of that Agreement. The

drafting of the Basic Law is a matter for China. But

that has not prevented us from taking every suitable