21. The resettlement programme for Vietnamese with refugee status progressed satisfactorily during the year and continued to meet the targets set by the Geneva Conference. Coupled with the establishment of a new Regional Resettlement Transit Centre in Bataan in the Philippines for up to 5,000 refugees from Hong Kong, there was a prospect of Hong Kong being able to close two of its three open centres for refugees and thus be left with a refugee population of well under 5,000 by the end of 1991. This transfer arrangement was made possible by an agreement during the year between the British and Philippines Governments, and the centre was built with a contribution of three million pounds by the British Government.
22. Another agreement was reached in February 1990 by the British and Vietnamese Governments on the return to Vietnam of 1,000 volunteers a month as from May, after which there was a steady increase in the number of volunteers returning home to Vietnam. The numbers, however, still fell short of the agreed figure of 1,000 per month.
23. In September, following discussions in Hanoi, a third agreement was reached between the British, Vietnamese and Hong Kong Governments and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on streamlined procedures which should help to accelerate the voluntary repatriation programme. Also agreed was a programme to repatriate non-refugees, who, while not actively volunteering to return to Vietnam, were nevertheless not opposed to repatriation. This new programme is administered by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The first flight under the new programme took place on 1 December 1990.
24. On the international front, an informal meeting of the Steering Committee was held in May in Manila, but no agreement was reached on the central issue of mandatory repatriation or on the timing for the next formal Steering Committee meeting.
25. Meanwhile, a new centre at Tai A Chau, with a major contribution by the British Government of eight million pounds, which meets half the cost, was completed in January 1991. This new centre will provide extra accommodation facilities and thus make it possible to close down some existing centres and relieve overcrowding in others. It is the intention. of the Hong Kong Government to vest management of the new centre in the hands of a voluntary agency with a view to experimenting with a more open and liberal approach to camp management.
VI. Constitutional Development
26. Some important decisions were taken about Hong Kong's future political development in the course of the year. When the Joint Declaration was signed in 1984 there was no elected element of any kind in the legislature. Indirect elections to functional constituencies were introduced in 1985. Then on 16 February 1990 the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary announced the Government's intention to introduce 18 directly elected seats in the legislature in 1991 and at least 20 in 1995. This was a substantially greater step towards full democracy in Hong Kong than had been envisaged in the 1988 White Paper. The detailed arrangements for the 1991 elections were announced on 21 March 1990. The number of functional constituency seats will be increased from 14 to 21; the number of officials will be reduced from 10 to 3; and the number of appointed members will decrease from 20 to 18. This means that the Legislative Council to be elected in September 1991 will for the first time in its history have an elected majority.
27. The Government and the Hong Kong Government attach great importance to making a success of these elections. The Legislative Council, which convenes in October 1991, will provide a basis from which Hong Kong's democratic system can develop further.
VII. Human Rights
28. The people of Hong Kong have been assured of their basic human rights through the application of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) to Hong Kong since 1976. At present the Covenants are implemented in Hong Kong, as in the
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