§ Sir Paul Bryanasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement regarding the state of law and order in Hong Kong.
§ Mr. RentonThe overall law and order situation in Hong Kong is good. Hong Kong's reported crime rates are lower than those of most cities of comparable size. The maintenance of law and order is primarily the526W responsibility of the Royal Hong Kong police force, which has a strength of 25,420 disciplined staff supported by 5,505 civilian staff and 4,847 part-time auxiliaries. Developments in the crime situation are closely monitored by a central fight crime committee, which comprises senior Hong Kong Government officials and community representatives, and by the territory's 19 district crime committees.
§ Sir Paul Bryanasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he is satisfied that the container terminal facilities in Hong Kong are adequate to support its position as one of the leading ports in the world.
§ Mr. RentonIn 1985 the port of Hong Kong handled over 13,000 ocean-going vessels. Over one third of this traffic was containerised. Hong Kong is the world's third largest container port after New York and Rotterdam, and may be about to overtake the latter. The Kwai Chung container terminals at present comprise six berths with over 2,300 m of quay and 88 hectares of cargo handling area. The Hong Kong Government have drawn up a programme for the phased development of additional terminal facilities. Under the programme 15.5 hectares of seabed are now being reclaimed in order to provide additional back-up facilities. In addition, the Hong Kong Government announced last year that a further 28 hectares of seabed would be reclaimed to provide three additional berths and associated terminal facilities.