♫T MON
RUIT
On Vietnamese boat people, I agree with Mr Barrow
that the key to a solution of the problem lies in Vietnam. On 21 September we signed an Agreement in Hanoi
with the Vietnamese Government and the UNHCR which is
designed to speed up the rate of return of volunteers and to start a programme, under UNHCR auspices, for returning other who do not object. This Agreement will be backed up by the European Community's reintegration assistance package which was unveiled in Jakarta at the end of July.
Since then the American Secretary of State has met the
Vietnamese Foreign Minister and the two countries seem to
be on the road to normalisation.
Mr Hope calls for the early appointment of a
Governor who could become the first Chief Executive in
1997. I do not think this would be either feasible or
desirable. The Governor is the representative in Hong Kong of Her Majesty The Queen and, besides being responsible for the administration of Hong Kong, is also
the titular Commander-in-Chief of the British forces
stationed there. The Chief Executive, on the other hand, is required under the Basic Law to be a Chinese citizen
who has been resident in Hong Kong for twenty years and
who has no right of abode in any foreign country.
In any
case, there are no plans to replace the present Governor,
Sir David Wilson, in whom the Government has complete
confidence.
I appreciate Mr Hope's concern that human rights should be protected as effectively as possible following
the promulgation of a Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights will be effectively entrenched after 1997 because Article 39 of the Basic Law provides that the provisions of the
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Private notes are available after approval.